BUFFALO, N.Y. — As we enter the coldest months of the year, we got an update on the work to repair the USS the Sullivans. We also learned how the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park plans to prevent any further damage.
The Sullivans listed badly and partially sank earlier in the year because of damage to its hull last winter.
The naval park has brought in a naval surveyor to put together a comprehensive plan to keep all the 80-year-old ships protected. One of the steps being taken is to install bubblers underwater to keep ice from forming.
"It's basically just an electric motor that has a propeller that's housed inside of a cage, and it's below the surface of the water at between four and five feet and angled at about 45 degrees. So it constantly keeps the water in motion, and then when the water's in motion, it can't form ice," Bill Abbott the Naval Park director of operations said.
All three ships at the naval park will be monitored daily all winter as work continues to keep their hulls in good shape.