U.S. Navy announces updates for preservation of Pearl Harbor’s USS Arizona

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U.S. Navy announces updates for preservation of Pearl Harbor’s USS Arizona

The USS Arizona is considered a war grave for about 900 of the sailors and Marines who died during the 1941 attack. The USS Arizona Memorial at Ford Island, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, was created in 1962. File Photo by John M. Hageman/U.S. Navy

May 16 (UPI) — The U.S. Navy on Friday announced its plans for a preservation project coordinated with the National Park Service for Pearl Harbor’s USS Arizona that includes the removal of its aging mooring platforms.

The USS Arizona, a Pennsylvania-class battleship commissioned in 1916, suffered a direct hit from Japanese forces in December 1941 while stationed at Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor. It sank within minutes, killing 1,177 of the 1,512 crewmen aboard.

The ship is considered a war grave and remains the resting place of around 900 of the sailors and Marines who died during the attack. While the ship will always remain underwater and undisturbed, work is needed to ensure the site — which now includes a national memorial — is preserved and to prevent further environmental damage.

After the attack, in 1942, mooring platforms were attached to the sunken ship to help with salvage operations of the ship’s weapons and equipment to aid in the war effort after the U.S. joined World War II.

“What the Pearl Harbor salvors did in the years following the attack and throughout the war was nothing short of miraculous,” said Capt. Lee Shannon, the officer in command of the platform removal.

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The terrifying events of the day are clear in a view looking down Battleship Row from Ford Island Naval Air Station, shortly after the Japanese torpedo plane attack. USS California (BB-44) is at left, listing to port after receiving two torpedo hits. In the center are USS Maryland (BB-46) with the capsized USS Oklahoma (BB-37) alongside. Most smoke is from USS Arizona (BB-39). File Photo by U.S. Navy

“I don’t know of any equivalent salvage effort before or since. The sheer magnitude of technical expertise, meticulous planning and grueling work under unprecedented and dangerous conditions, day in and day out, all the way up to the final peace treaty signing 80 years ago, makes me very proud of the Navy and the people of Hawaii.”

But the mooring platforms were not meant to be permanent and are deteriorating, posing a threat to the ship, the monument built at the site in 1962, and the environment around it.

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The USS Arizona (BB-39) is pictured in center, burning furiously. To the left are the USS Tennessee (BB-43) and the sunken USS West Virginia (BB-48). File Photo by U.S. Navy

In October 2023, one platform partially collapsed, raising alarms about their structural integrity. Leaving the platforms in place risks damage to the ship’s fragile hull, which could cause pieces to break off or shift underwater or pollute the harbor with oil and fuel.

After a year of planning and analysis, the Navy has announced that it will install a new temporary mooring system to facilitate the removal of the aging mooring platforms. The temporary mooring system would then also be removed.

“Before we are able to start platform removal operations, it is important to establish measures that further enable the safe removal of the platforms from the Arizona by containing the worksite and protecting the environment,” said Matthew Englehart, a diving and salvage officer with the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

The Navy is expected to begin placing containment buoys and anchors in the waters surrounding the USS Arizona Memorial site May 19 as a precautionary measure and in preparation for the upcoming removal, expected to take place later this year.

It was not immediately clear how the preservation work would impact visitors. Some 2 million people visit the site, which is only accessible by boat, each year.

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