Juliett 484 News
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May 12 Q&A with Foundation President Frank Lennon about the sinking of K-77
How has the sinking of the sub affected you and other members of the Saratoga team?
I won't kid you; the sinking of the submarine is a great disappointment, both personally and professionally. It has been especially difficult because of the management time and attention this incident has required. Bill Sheridan and I have spent virtually all our waking hours for the past three weeks tending to the sub situation.
This loss is painful to our many sub volunteers and staff members. They have collectively spent thousands of hours cleaning, restoring and refurbishing the sub over the past five years so that our dedicated docents could share this treasure with more than 35,000 visitors from all over the world.
Watching the sub go down was especially painful for former US Navy submariner Ken Johnson, who has invested thousands of hours of his own time to create a historical exhibit of which we could all be proud.
I want to commend and thank Ken for the many hours he spent at the site after the sinking, providing his knowledge and expertise to the divers and other salvage experts who were unfamiliar with the sub. Because of Ken's assistance, we are in a far better situation than we might otherwise have been.
One of the most difficult aspects of the sinking was breaking the news to the former Soviet naval officers who served aboard K-77. Many of us have developed warm relationships with former crew members and associates in Russia; it was a very difficult task to report the sinking. On the other hand, we have been heartened by their expressions of support and willingness to do all in their power to help raise her.
What about the financial/monetary impact on the Saratoga project? Will this crisis draw funds away from the effort to get the carrier?
Let me start by reminding everyone that if it were not for the sub, the Saratoga project would have died five years ago. In December of 2001, our effort was nearly killed by opposition from the Economic Development Corporation and a lack of support from the previous governor. As a result, we were forced to diversify in order to survive until the arrival of a new administration that could appreciate the benefits of the Saratoga vision to all Rhode Islanders.
Against all odds, we overcame formidable competition and acquired this Soviet cruise missile submarine which had been used in the making of the Harrison Ford movie "K-19: The Widowmaker".
Many of you will recall the incredible worldwide publicity (including a front-page article in the Wall Street Journal), the movie premiere and the positive vibes that resulted from the sub's opening to the public as Providence's newest attraction. Juliett 484 has since hosted more than 35,000 residents, visitors, veterans and school children from more than 45 different states and a number of foreign countries.
More importantly, getting the sub invigorated our volunteers, maintained media interest, and showed our opponents that we were a force to be reckoned with in those dark days of 2002.
Our initial exposure is the $10,000 deductible on our insurance policy. We have a $1 million marine liability insurance policy, $500,000 of which is available for salvage. Our insurance carrier recognizes our situation, and is working with us to minimize the financial impact.
Realizing the importance of maintaining the sub's financial independence, the Foundation board has approached several major supporters of the sub project to ask for their help in covering the deductible, so those funds will not have to come out of the Saratoga treasury.
From a short-term cash flow perspective, there will be no negative impact. For the past year, major reconstruction of highway I-195 has greatly restricted access to the sub, and we have only been open to visitors on weekends. That construction will continue for at least another year.
What has been the reaction of the Coast Guard and other regulatory and public safety agencies?
From the very first distress call late on the afternoon of April 16, the reaction of all agencies has been one of sympathy and support. They recognize that we, like so many others in recent years, are a storm victim.
We have worked most closely with the US Coast Guard, whose primary concern from day one was life safety-followed closely by ensuring any pollution would be minimized and controlled. We commend the entire Coast Guard chain of command for their fairness and responsiveness.
Special thanks go to the crews of the Providence Police and Fire Department boats; through their efforts the sub's pollution boom, which had been broken in two by the fury of the storm, was reattached and secured in place on Tuesday afternoon, prior to the sub's actual sinking.
Other agencies cooperating with our efforts include the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and the US Navy.
How has the Navy reacted to this incident?
One of our board members met last week with the NAVSEA Ship Donation team, and all agreed there was little connection between the submarine situation and our application for Saratoga. Everyone understands we are a storm victim. They also understand that although we have invested considerable time and money to upgrade the sub's condition since taking it over, our efforts have been hampered by not having any builders' plans that would have enabled us to do even more. The Russians say the plans are still classified, and have not allowed us to even look at them. We have visited Russia more than once on this unsuccessful quest.
What little knowledge we have comes from reverse engineering the data developed when the sub was drydocked in preparation for the filming of "K-19: The Widowmaker". We have remained in contact with the marine surveyor who did that work; he visited the sub here in Rhode Island as recently as February.
Other Navy officials have been extremely helpful and sympathetic to our plight. They have already providing some technical help, and we have submitted a formal application requesting dive and salvage assistance under the DOD's Innovative Readiness Training program (IRT).
This is a joint service program designed to offer training opportunities to military units while at the same time helping to meet civic and community needs.
This initiative began in 1993, and over the years cooperative efforts with local and state agencies as well as non-profits have maintained and enhance military readiness. At the same time these public-private partnerships have addressed a number of local needs and have lifted the morale of the people helped.
As one former Navy salvage officer put it, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our divers and salvors to work on a real sunken submarine. That training opportunity would cost millions to duplicate, and Navy involvement would be a win-win for all concerned."
How long do you think it will take to float the sub again?
The underwater survey continued through the week of May 7, as divers carefully assessed the sub compartment by compartment, sending back realtime imagery in order to gather as much information as possible.
Once again, we are hobbled by our inability to get engineering drawings and specific technical data from Russia. We have renewed those efforts in light of the current circumstances, and our former K-77 crew members are guardedly optimistic that they may get more positive results this time.
The next step is for salvage experts, in consultation with the divers, to review the data and video needed to formulate the best possible salvage plan. That process will take at least a month; we would expect some idea of the direction to proceed by about June 15.
We are working with all appropriate agencies and contractors to raise the sub as soon as possible. Even though the water is not very deep, the sub weighs more than 3000 tons (4000 tons now that she is full of water), and that poses an engineering challenge. Under the best possible scenario (a public-private partnership supported by our insurance carrier) the hull could be sealed and pumped out, and the sub could be raised by September. If funding issues, unforeseen technical difficulties or bureaucratic delays crop up, the process could take considerably longer.
What will you do with the sub after it is raised?
We can't answer that question until we see what condition she is in and how much damage she has sustained. At the very least, we will make sure the sub is stable and will not sink again.
On a positive note, the ship was inoperable to start with, so we will not have to restore machinery and equipment to working order. However, to reopen her as a public attraction we would have to redo the electrical and heating system, plus thoroughly clean and repaint water-fouled surfaces.
Efforts to raise and stabilize the sub can be covered by our insurance, but the work needed to restore her to museum status is not. The final decision will be driven by two factors: how much will it cost, and how much effort would we have to divert from our main goal of acquiring Saratoga.
Given the age and condition of the sub, the best answer may be to put her on dry land, as the USS Albacore is in Portsmouth, NH. (Other subs, to include USS Drum in Mobile, AL and D-2 in St. Petersburg, Russia are also on land.)
Any final comments?
We are, after all, a storm victim. This nor'easter has been referred to in any number of headlines as "worse than some hurricanes", and "the 25-or 50-year storm".
As emotionally wrenching as this experience has been, I believe the final judgment will be based on how well we respond to adversity and a crisis situation.
We rescued K-77 from a potential watery grave once before, and we hope to do it again.
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Last Updated:
5/14/07