BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park’s USS The Sullivans is causing oil to leak into the water.

What You Need To Know

  • Coast Guard leaders said crews have recovered 7,510 gallons of oily waste
  • Based on assessments they said there is no damage to the shoreline or wildlife
  • The ship is now listing at a 14-degree angle

Lieutenant Andre Clansy with the United States Coast Guard said divers are trying to identify exactly where the leak is coming from, but in the meantime, cleanup efforts are underway.

Crews surrounded the ship with sausage booms that skim the water and extract it for treatment. As of Wednesday, he said 7,510 gallons of oily waste have been collected, and that is a mix of both oil and water, not just pure oil.

He said they are regularly assessing the impact on wildlife.

“We’ve gone out all the way down to the Erie Basin, and we have seen no effects on the shoreline,” said Clansy. “And that’s something that we’ll continue doing just because we are doing our due diligence in ensuring that there has been no impact outside of the boomed area.”

The ship is now listing at 14.1 degrees on the starboard, or right, side. At its worst, it was listing at 45 degrees.

The situation is now getting some attention from Congressman Brian Higgins. After returning to Washington, D.C., he called for a federal response to save the destroyer.

"I rise today to sound the alarm on an urgent situation that requires the federal government to deploy an emergency response," said Higgins on the House floor. "A retired U.S. Navy vessel at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park is sinking. Without help, the USS The Sullivans, which was part of an elite class of World War II destroyers and is a National Historic Landmark, will be lost forever."