The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), United States Coast Guard (USCG), the City of Buffalo, and Buffalo Naval Park today announced the completion of phase one to stabilize two historically and culturally significant vessels – the USS Croaker and USS The Sullivans. The coordinated multi-agency response at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park helped protect the Buffalo River after potentially hazardous threats to the environment were identified on the vessels in March. 

“The fuel removal operation on the USS Croaker and USS The Sullivans was a tremendous success due to the incredible coordination and expertise deployed by DEC, the Coast Guard, City of Buffalo, and Naval Park,” DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton said. “DEC is excited to see these two historically significant vessels head to dry dock so they can be repaired for their eventual return back to the Buffalo River waterfront.”

Commander Adam Mosley, the Coast Guard’s Incident Commander, said, “The U.S. Coast Guard was proud to partner with the New York State DEC, the City of Buffalo, and the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park in this coordinated response. The successful completion of Phase One reflects the dedication of the many professionals working through a Unified Command structure. Coast Guard members committed their expertise to help mitigate compounding issues to a challenging problem. Protecting the maritime environmental from harm is a core Coast Guard mission. We remain steadfast in our environmental stewardship and coordination with our partners as preservation efforts of these historic vessels moves into the next phase of restoration.”

Mayor Sean Ryan said, “Protecting the Buffalo River was of the utmost importance for this mission, and that has been accomplished. It’s great to see the successful completion of the first phase of environmental cleanup and vessel stabilization. We will continue working closely with our state and federal partners as this project moves forward.”

President and CEO of the Buffalo Naval Park Brian Luallen said, "The Park is deeply grateful to the teams who made this possible. This work was carried out efficiently and with the urgency required to support the preservation of these ships. While many complex phases remain, this is a vital and meaningful first step toward long-term repair." 

The efforts began on March 16 after a pinhole in one of the fuel tanks aboard the USS Croaker and water incursion on the USS The Sullivans created two potentially hazardous threats to the environment. Through more than a month of work, there continues to be no impact to wildlife from the intermittent petroleum releases. 

DEC was the lead State agency under a Unified Command structure that included the Coast Guard, City of Buffalo, and the Buffalo Naval Park. The Phase 1 response focused on the safe removal and treatment of legacy residual fuel products typical of historic naval vessels, along with stabilization measures required to manage contaminated water accumulation and support vessel integrity.

Crews removed 124,665 total gallons of diesel fuel and oily water from the USS Croaker and 100,418 gallons from the USS The Sullivans. Without this removal, the ships’ stability was in question, as was the potential contamination of the Buffalo River. Oil collected by DEC will be recycled. Contractors off-loaded recovered water into portable storage (frac) tanks for appropriate treatment. 

The cleanup was funded through commitments already included within the established public funding framework supporting the ships’ preservation. Using DEC contractors allowed the work to proceed on an accelerated timeline, which will allow Phase 2 to begin immediately on the removal of oil from USS Little Rock.  

The next steps in the Naval Park’s “Operation Preservation” project will include finalizing contracts, dredging underneath the vessels, and moving USS Little Rock temporarily so that USS The Sullivans and USS Croaker can be towed for long-term repair and return. Both vessels will be transported along Lake Erie to Donjon Shipbuilders in Erie, Pennsylvania, where dry dock repairs will take place to help save the two vessels and their historic legacy.