Rodrigo Torrejon, with The Record and NorthJersey.com, updates us with the latest from the USS Ling in Hackensack. Wednesday morning, August 15, 2018 Kevin R. Wexler, NorthJersey
The damage caused by vandals to the USS Ling, a World War II-era submarine berthed in the Hackensack River, may be beyond repair.
Sometime in the past four days, vandals apparently climbed aboard the 312-foot-long submarine, cut locks and opened hatches to flood the submarine with Hackensack River water. The inside of the 2,500-ton vessel is inundated with as much as 10 feet of water, said Les Altschuler, vice president of the Submarine Memorial Association, and may not be salvageable, and the artifacts aboard the sub are probably destroyed.
"This boat is filled with water," Altschuler said. "If this boat was on the surface now, it would sink. That's how much water is in there. Enough to dive the boat."
But as local police search for the vandals, the future of the USS Ling remains unclear. Museum officials say they have their hands tied with how to move forward.
Museum officials are waiting for word from the U.S. Navy. But until then, the water is mixing with lubricants inside the vessel, which could cause some environmental damage.
"There are still some oils in the boat, and anything other than water can't be pumped in the river," Altschuler said. "That’s why the Fire Department yesterday couldn’t pump the water out, because of environmental reasons. You can't put it back in the river because of anything that might be in it."
Environmental experts, however, say the vessel should have been cleared of any damaging fluids inside years ago.
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USS Ling submarine in Hackensack vandalized
Hugh Carola, program director with the Hackensack Riverkeeper, said he did not expect the flooded vessel to be an environmental concern — so long as most of the mechanical fluids inside the vessel were removed.
“The main question will be: What is in the water?” Carola said. “From my understanding, all of the mechanical fluids were removed years ago. If there were any mechanical fluids in the boat, that would be my main concern.”
If all fluids were removed, any residual oils or lubricants still in the vessel could be easily contained, said Carola. Residual fluids would likely float above the water, where they can be sucked off and transported to a hazardous waste site for disposal, he explained.
The ship was donated by the U.S. Navy to the museum, which is responsible for the vessel. The Navy still oversees what happens to the ship, and also inspects it annually, Altschuler said. The Navy, however, does not provide funds to maintain the ship.
A spokesperson for the Naval Sea Systems Command, which is in charge of vessels donated or loaned to organizations, did not return calls for comment.
Longtime city fixture
City officials on Wednesday condemned the vandalism against the submarine, which has been a fixture in the community for decades.
"On behalf of Hackensack Mayor John Labrosse and the Hackensack council, we are outraged someone would commit such a crime and show such utter disrespect for our Armed Forces — especially to veterans who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country," Thomas Tauchert of Vision Media Marketing, the public relations firm that represents the city, said in a statement. "We have faith in our city's police department and look forward to their investigation leading to the apprehension and prosecution of those responsible."
Councilman Leonardo Battaglia echoed the sentiments, saying he hoped the vandals would be found and punished.
"I'm really concerned, because it's something historic, related to the war and so many people who lost their lives," Battaglia said. "It's a shame."
But other city officials did not immediately respond to questions about the future of the USS Ling.
Messages to Labrosse, Deputy Mayor Kathleen Canestrino and Deputy Mayor David Sims went unanswered. Councilwoman Stephanie Von Rudenborg deferred questions to City Manager Ted Ehrenburg, who did not respond for comment.
The 312-foot, 2,500-ton, World War II-era submarine was the featured exhibit of the New Jersey Naval Museum, which occupied a trailer on land that was once headquarters of North Jersey Media Group, which was sold to Gannett in 2016 and publishes The Record. The Ling has been anchored off the riverbank behind the newspaper’s former headquarters for decades.
The museum, which was closed in 2012 after floodwaters from Superstorm Sandy washed out the gangplank to the Ling, has been housed on that parcel since 1974, when the Borg family, which owned the newspaper, negotiated a deal to lease land to the museum for $1 a year.
Museum officials, whose lease was terminated in 2016, agreed to vacate the property by Tuesday, after being served an eviction notice. But they say they have nowhere else to go. That is also true for the USS Ling.
The city does not have the financial means to step in and remove the vessel without help from other government entities, Battaglia said. When his children were younger, he said, he would take them to the Ling, and he doesn't want to see the vessel go to waste.
"I don't know if the city is in the position to spend millions of dollars to do something. The city doesn't have the money. We're trying to get tax relief for residents," Battaglia said. He added, "It should be everybody's effort. It's a shame."
Moving the Ling would be difficult, because the anatomy of the river has changed, said Carola, making it difficult for any tugboats or barges to get near the submarine to remove it. For that reason, the vessel is virtually stuck in the mud until an alternative solution is found.
Before this week, officials estimated that removing the vessel from the river could cost millions — an expense too steep for the volunteers in charge of the ship. Since news of the incident broke, some donations have trickled in for a GoFundMe campaign to collect funds to relocate or restore it.
“As an environmental advocate and student of history, this hits me two-fold. There is concern for the ecological health of the river. I don’t expect there to be an environmental impact — I hope not,” Carola said. “But the question remains: What happens now [with the submarine]? What were they thinking in 1973?”
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