Expert has faced aging ship dilemma before, offers views
When it comes to the issue of Patriots Point and what to do with our aging fleet of iconic warships, we are not alone.
"More than one maritime museum has been sunk by its heritage vessels," according to Larry Robbins, an expert on such matters who lives in New Zealand.
Robbins has closely followed the story of Patriots Point and the fate of four World War II era ships, the aircraft carrier Yorktown, destroyer Laffey, submarine Clamagore and Coast Guard cutter Ingham.
A freelance consultant, Robbins was director of the New Zealand National Maritime Museum in Aukland for eight years and has more than 30 years' experience in dealing with decommissioned ships.
"When the Royal New Zealand Navy decommissioned the last tender-class frigate HMNZS Canterbury, I received numerous calls from former members of the ship's company asking me to find a berth for her as an exhibition piece," Robbins said in an e-mail interview with The Post and Courier. "We declined for a number of reasons. The ship was sunk as a dive reef."
Manpower intense
The Post and Courier
The financially-strapped Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum, with the WWII aircraft carrier Yorktown shown in an aerial view from May 29, has defined the Patriots Point peninsula for decades.
Robbins is just one of many experts around the world who recognize the reality of keeping these old ships afloat for the public to view.
While people's hearts are in the right place wanting to preserve history for future generations, there is a price point where emotion meets economics. And the two don't always agree.
World Ship Trust (worldshiptrust.org), which is dedicated to preserving historic ships at least 40 feet long and 50 years old, lists more than 2,000 vessels around the globe that are in various states of repair, many in danger of rusting away from neglect.
From Norway to Peru to the east and west coasts of the United States, governments and nonprofit organizations are fretting over the rising costs of maintaining these precious pieces of history.
"Maintenance of any vessel is ongoing and manpower intense," Robbins said. "One shudders at the task (and the cost) of maintaining a ship the size of the Yorktown."
Honorable answers
At 972 feet and 27,000 tons, the aircraft carrier Yorktown is one of the largest of these former fighting ships still on display.
Built in 1943 to replace its namesake, which was sunk in the Battle of Midway, "The Fighting Lady," helped win the war in the Pacific before serving in various roles to include recovery of the Apollo 8 astronauts before it was decommissioned in 1970.
Your suggestions
In 1975, the ship was brought to the Lowcountry from New Jersey and buried in 20 feet of pluff mud along the banks of the Cooper River in Mount Pleasant to become the centerpiece of our maritime museum that has been a popular tourist attraction for more than 30 years.
What maintenance it received during that time was covered by ticket sales and the sweat equity of many veterans who volunteered over the years. Both, however, are declining in numbers.
One of our closest neighbors, the battleship North Carolina berthed in Wilmington, N.C., receives no government money for its maintenance. However, according to its executive director, Terry Bragg, the ship's commissioners will soon seek as much as $8 million from their state government to cover dry-dock repairs. He recently said, in regard to the economy, "It would be rude to ask right now."
In our pages today, many of our readers offer ideas about what to do to get the ships out of the water and away from the salty sea's gnawing destruction.
A recent estimate, however, pegged repair costs for the ships at more than $64 million. That will not be nearly enough, however, to keep the ships shipshape for decades to come.
At a time when local governments are strapped for cash, perhaps the only long-term financial solution is federal funding.
But if you save this one, what about the others? There are literally thousands of them out there, rusting away, sinking slowly in our harbors and rivers, waiting for someone to come up with honorable answers.
Reach Ken Burger at kburger@postandcourier.com or 937-5598. To read previous columns, go to postandcourier.com/burger/.
E-mail this story
Printer-friendly version
Comments
spengler (anonymous) says...
Have the controlling authority for the museum get some marine engineers to advise them of the most cost-effective way to handle the hull degredation and advise on maintenance. Get a price, then raise the money. If the deficit-addicted federal government can't float some funds for the museum, an enterprising lawyer could litigate the government's use of deficit funding for redirection of monies to the museum.
June 7, 2009 at 7:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
512c (anonymous) says...
I just met with Capt. James Bath in Wilmington, who personally has salvaged hundreds of vessels, and sunk several with the help of the Marines... He of course isn't in favor of scrapping boats, because he loves sailing, and being on the Sea... He and I discussed the moth balling techniques of the James River "ghost fleet". He described how there is a crew of workers that go out every morning on a ferry to work on the nearly 400 ships (now lessened because of a KBR owned scrap yard in Texas taking on over 80 of them for scrap), the EPA is a huge factor, because of so many various mercury's and asbestos contaminants...
I asked him about foam, and he admits that most foams are degraded by the sea life, and the salt...
While, some salt water actually preserves organic fibers, like wood, in ballast of wood ships... And that the technology has actually never been explored deeply.
The possible use of foams by people is only now being explored. My research is encouraging. There is a company using acidic foams to contain asbestos for example. The solution is out there. but the ships are still rusting, and flakes of mercury laded paint fall down into our soils and rivers...
June 7, 2009 at 11:27 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Neponset (anonymous) says...
I don't know about the previous comments, but steel ships need care and they have not gotten it in many years - the chickens have come to roost and the rookery is about to sink. Get some folks that are not just drawing a salary, - that have same knowledge and can advise on what to do with these decaying ships.
June 7, 2009 at 11:53 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
charlestonbill (anonymous) says...
Why not build a dam around the ships at storm tide level + 2 feet. Secure the ships with supports. Pump out the area of water and mud and backfill with rock and cement like the footings of the bridge. The ships would be high and dry and this would keep the cost down for upkeep. Keeping this footing close to the ship would still give the feeling of free floating. I would also suggest lifting the sub onto the land and set it in cement.
June 9, 2009 at 10:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
combahee (anonymous) says...
These aren't just any ships, they are who we are.
Should we allow Fort Sumter to fall down because of the elements toll on the brick walls? Should we let the historic buildings of Charleston be torn down for some less intensive maintenance buildings? These are ships where Americans fought and died to save our country.
What are other ship museums doing?
Is PP using cathode systems? Cathode systems use sacrificial metals exterior to the hull to protect from corrosion, like the zincs on your outboard motor.
A committee of experts, engineers etc., not bound by politics should be formed immediately to find ways to save and preserve these ships.
If 100 year old steel lighthouses can be preserved I would think a ship can be preserved as well.
Maybe the PP Authority needs fresh blood that will find ways to maintain these ships. It's a shame they have been allowed to get to this point.
Maybe that's the point, allow them to deteriorate, sink them for an artificial reef, and put up a new hotel or condo or two.
June 11, 2009 at 10:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
R_U_Kidding_Me (anonymous) says...
Turn the hanger deck into a casino.
The revenue would be more than enough to maintain Charleston's Naval Fleet.
June 17, 2009 at 1:23 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Missing_Home (anonymous) says...
Talk abpout beating a dead Horse.
Ken, We get it! there is a problem with funding for Patriots Point.
Stop trying to incite the masses and start writing about other lowcountry news.
I really enjoy your writing style and miss it.
June 19, 2009 at 2:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Postandcourier.com is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. Postandcourier.com does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not postandcourier.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website.
Users can now build user-to-user connections, follow friends' recent posts, add an avatar that fits their personality, and more. If you have posted here before you'll need to sign up again, or if you've never posted before, start now by signing up!
Full terms and conditions can be read here.