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Divers' Ship Husbandry Techniques Save Money, Avoid Dry-docking

By Naval Sea Systems Command Public Affairs

"Cannibalization" of a sonar array from the decommissioned destroyer Nicholson (DD 982) is allowing NAVSEA's Salvage and Diving professionals to recover valuable equipment for use on another ship while saving time, money and a trip to the dry dock. Divers are on-scene this week in Philadelphia under the direction of NAVSEA's Office of the Director of Ocean Engineering, Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV) (or 00C as it is known in the Fleet). Led by LT Robert McClellan, a team of divers is cutting into the ship's sonar dome to remove the SQS-53 sonar transducers for re-utilization.

An operating destroyer's sonar dome, located forward below the waterline, would normally be accessible through an air lock. However, in this case the dome had become vulnerable to collapse and was not rated safe for occupancy.

Cutting through the bottom of the dome while maintaining pressure within it is allowing divers to remove more than 500 transducer elements within the dome. The transducer elements are bolted down to racks, and set up in a circular pattern within the ship's sonar dome. Weighing 100 pounds each, the transducers have to be rigged out individually. With a team of nine divers, it is expected that three to four people at a time will be working inside the transducer housing where a bubble of air will allow them to take off their helmets and work more efficiently. They expect to remove about 100 transducers a day. However, challenging weather, and the recent freezing of the Delaware River has caused delays in the operation. Once it is complete, the avoidance of towing the ship to a shipyard and dry-docking will have saved the government $450,000.

These and other ship husbandry techniques were developed by 00C, which has been doing underwater ship husbandry for more than 20 years. While they have done work in and around sonar domes before, this marks the first removal of a complete sonar array to cannibalize for reconditioning.

Underwater ship husbandry techniques are also being used in Mayport, Florida, to replace a damaged auxiliary propulsion unit (APU) motor on the frigate USS Doyle (FFG 39). 00C is providing equipment and procedures to SIMA Mayport divers to facilitate replacement of the motor, avoiding dry-docking and saving $350,000 and seven operational ship days.

SUPSALV, part of the Naval Sea Systems Command, is located in the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, DC. SUPSALV is responsible for all aspects of ocean engineering, including salvage, in-water ship repair, towing, diving safety, and diver equipment maintenance and procurement. For more information, go to, go to www.supsalv.org.