Navy, Pearl Harbor National Memorial take next step in USS Arizona preservation, removal of mooring platforms
Thursday, May 15, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PA Cell: (808) 399-8329 May 15, 2025
Duty Cell: (808) 371-5189 Release # 25-04
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii – The U.S. Navy and the Pearl Harbor
National Memorial will 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 of the two mooring platforms constructed on the hull of the sunken battleship.
After a year of focused planning and analysis, the installation of this mooring system is a
necessary precaution to ensure environmental protection ahead of removing the platforms later this year. Additionally, this action supports the platform removal emergency response plan.
"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 Cmdr. Matthew Englehart, U.S. Pacific Fleet diving and salvage officer.
The mooring platforms, visible above the water to millions of visitors since the monument was opened in May 1962, were not part of the battleship when it was sunk. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Navy attached the platforms to the vessel in 1942 to facilitate salvage operations of the Arizona’s main guns and other equipment needed for the war effort.
Though not intended to be in place long-term, the platforms have remained connected to the ship for more than 80 years.
After Platform 1 partially collapsed in October 2023, Navy divers assigned to Mobile Diving
Salvage Unit One and the National Park Service’s Submerged Resources Center conducted
numerous site investigations to document and assess the condition of both platforms and the ship’s hull. Ultimately, the Navy decided to remove the historic platforms to prevent possible damage to the USS Arizona, its memorial, and the environment.
In preparation for platform removal, the U.S. Navy and Pearl Harbor National Memorial
personnel have conducted preservation planning while coordinating compliance with
stakeholders, including the State of Hawaii. The plan that has been developed ensures
compliance with relevant laws, regulations, and policies. The U.S. Navy has implemented
ongoing oil spill monitoring and response protocols and has conducted exercises to improve existing processes and enhance effectiveness.
“The team has evaluated project actions consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act and continues to consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service, the State Historic
Preservation Office, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as appropriate,” said William
Manley, Navy Region Hawaii environmental director. “All necessary approvals will be in place prior to the deployment of precautionary response assets and commencement of platform recovery operations.”
Additionally, all efforts will be coordinated with the Pearl Harbor National Memorial and local officials to ensure the platform removal fully respects the ship’s historic importance to the nation and its sacred status as a war grave.
The removal of the platforms will symbolize the completion of a salvage operation that began more than 80 years ago, involving the efforts of the U.S. Navy’s diving and salvage force, and thousands of contractors and shipyard workers drawn from the people of Hawaii and many different local communities.
“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. “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. The tradition of that spirit continues, and I hope we honor them with our work on the Arizona this year.”
The USS Arizona Memorial is located at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, and honors the 1,177 crewmen who died in the attack. The ship’s hull remains a tomb for more than 900 Sailors and Marines, as well as survivors of the attack who were later interred. The memorial was built in 1962 and is visited by more than 2 million people each year. Accessible only by boat, it rests above the sunken remains of the battleship without touching it. Since 1980, the National Park Service has managed the memorial. For the official history of the vessel, visit
Updates about the USS Arizona’s platforms will be available on
https://cnrh.cnic.navy.mil/About/History/USS-Arizona-Preservation/, as well as on the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service website at https://dvidshub.net/unit/C-NRH. Visitors are encouraged to visit the USS Arizona Memorial website for updates at
https://www.nps.gov/perl/index.htm.
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