Navy on Yorktown: Fix it or junk it

MOUNT PLEASANT -- The aircraft carrier Yorktown played a heroic role in numerous battles for the Navy, from the time it was built in the 1940s until it was decommissioned in 1970.

But as the longtime centerpiece of the floating maritime museum at Patriots Point, the inactive warship has been slowly losing a silent, corrosive and very costly war with nature.

Officials at the military attraction estimated Tuesday that it would cost more than $100 million to dry dock and repair the ship's deteriorating steel hull. It's money that South Carolina does not have.

The long-simmering problem came to a boil as the Patriots Point Development Authority discussed a letter it received from the Department of the Navy about the deteriorating condition of the donated ship.

In short, the Navy has given the state agency two options for dealing with the Yorktown: Either put the vessel in dry dock so its rusting hull can be fixed or submit a plan to dispose of the aging ship.

"Disposal is not in our vocabulary," said Dick Trammell, executive director of the authority.

Trammell said the early estimates for dry docking the Yorktown run between $100 million and $120 million. And that figure does not include the millions of dollars in dredging and other work that would be required to prepare the ship for a move from its longtime berth.

"If anyone would like to write us a check, the bank is open," Trammell said.

He said the ship is not in danger of sinking -- it rests in 26 feet of mud -- and that the oil that is still on board poses no immediate environmental threat. He said the main area of structural concern is near the Yorktown's bow, just above the waterline.

"It is definitely a long-term problem," he said.

The deferred maintenance expenses facing the Yorktown and ships at other naval museums raise some difficult and emotionally charged questions that can't be put off much longer, said John Hagerty, chairman of the development authority.

Hagerty said it remains to be seen "what the will of the people is to keep this memorial going."

"I think the will of the people will always be to honor our veterans," he said Tuesday. "But the question is, How much are we willing to pay to honor them?"

Patriots Point, which has borrowed about $9 million to dry-dock and repair leaks to the destroyer Laffey, is not alone in dealing with wear and tear of saltwater on in-water attractions. Trammell said the Navy has put most other museums that house inactive military ships "on notice" about overdue maintenance.

In a letter to Hagerty dated June 18, Rear Adm. J.P. McManamon of the Naval Sea System Command said that as part of the Navy's 1974 agreement to donate the Yorktown to Patriots Point, the state assumed "all ownership costs," including renovations, repairs and disposal.

McManamon also said the Navy is prohibited by law from providing financial assistance for any of its donated ships. The letter did not cite any penalties should Patriots Point fail to comply with the request for written details of a repair or disposal plan.

A spokeswoman for the Naval Sea Command could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

A formal response to McManamon's letter, which was sent with other correspondence to state and federal lawmakers, is expected to be ready next week.

"What they're saying is, place the Yorktown in dry dock," Hagerty told board members at a meeting on board the ship Tuesday. "What I'm saying is, we can't do that right now."

The Yorktown has not been placed in dry dock for maintenance since it was towed to Patriots Point about 34 years ago.

Mount Pleasant acting Mayor Kruger Smith, attending his last meeting as a member of the development authority, described the unfunded mandates spelled out by the Navy as "absurd." Other board members agreed.

Previous stories

• Sink the Yorktown and bring in another ship, published 05/24/09

• Exper has faced aging ship dilemma before, published 06/07/09

• Your suggestions for Patriots Point, published 06/07/09

Reach John McDermott at 937-5572 or jmcdermott@postandcourier.com.