Unified Command stood up to support preservation and environmental remediation in Buffalo, NY
March 12, 2026
Tim Walsh
Tim.Walshr9@dec.ny.gov.
BUFFALO, NY — The Coast Guard, New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation, the City of Buffalo, and the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Miliary Park have
established a Unified Command at 8:00 a.m. Thursday, March 12, 2026, to coordinate response
operations addressing environmental concerns at Naval Park.
Recent inspections of two permanently moored vessels identified an intermittent discharge of
petroleum products from a pinhole in one of the fuel tanks aboard USS Croaker and water
ingress on the USS The Sullivans. There are no reports of injury or impact to local wildlife at
this time.
The Unified Command has implemented coordinated operational planning and resource
mobilization to ensure the safe and efficient removal of legacy residual fuel products typical of
historic vessels, along with contaminated water requiring treatment. Response assets are being
staged in preparation for removing the fuel and contaminated water from both vessels on March
16th, 2026.
Both vessels remain permanently moored in the Buffalo River with residual fuel remaining in
their internal fuel tanks. The USS Croaker holds an estimated 25,000 gallons of diesel fuel and
potentially 115,000 gallons of oily water onboard, which responders are carefully monitoring to
limit environmental impact.
Simultaneously, operations to dewater and prevent further damage to the USS The Sullivans will
occur to stabilize the ship and support vessel integrity in preparation for the removal of an
estimated 30,000 gallons of oily water on board.
“The safety of the public, the responders, mitigation of environmental concerns and the
preservation of a national historic landmark remain our top concerns,” said Cmdr. Adam Mosley,
the Coast Guard’s incident commander.
A follow-on release will be made once operations begin on Monday, March 16th, 2026. Further
questions can be directed to Tim.Walshr9@dec.ny.gov.
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