BUFFALO, N.Y. — The mission to save USS The Sullivans has shifted from an emergency response phase to maintenance and decontamination.

As recovery efforts continue, the Buffalo Naval Park says divers have plugged 51 holes in the hull and crews have removed almost 95% of the water from the ship.

April 14 is when a power outage caused pumps of the ship to shut down, which caused the vessel to take on 3 million gallons of water. That led to a frantic dash to save the listing ship, which, within hours, went into a 45 degree list.

The dewatering operation featured 22 industrial pumps, including electric pumps, gasoline powered pumps and hydraulic pumps. Backup pumps were also on standby should a primary pump fail. 

Environmental contractors have also removed more than 7,500 gallons of oily waste and 25 cubic yards of debris that leaked into the water from the ship.

Dozens of artifacts were also safely removed from the ship.

At this point, the ship is leaning only 0.1 degrees.

That's a big improvement from nearly three weeks ago, when the World War II destroyer took on more than 3 million gallons of water.

The naval park says it plans to reduce the number of workers on-site as tasks are completed.

The Bidco Marine Group will continue a two-part epoxy repair on the hull, which began last summer.