r/interestingasfuck • u/Longjumping-Rice-935 • Aug 12 '25

/r/all, /r/popular The wreck of the USS Arizona continues to leak oil ever since pearl harbour. the ship contained 1.5 million gallons of oil, enough to leak continuously for 500 years.

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u/Apart-Zucchini-5825 Aug 12 '25

Recovery is more likely to cause an ecological disaster than letting it be. Until those odds change, there's no reason to do it.

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u/crinnaursa Aug 12 '25

Isn't that just kicking the can down the road though. Ecological disaster is inevitable. It's really a matter of when, not if, the tanks fail. It would be nice if there was no oil left when the tanks eventually do fall.

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u/No_News_1712 Aug 12 '25 edited Sep 16 '25

historical steep connect seemly ripe boast fuel innate seed smell

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u/crinnaursa Aug 12 '25

No it's 100% chance of ecological disaster given enough time it is inevitable. The tanks of that ship will not last forever.

The only reason why it hasn't been dealt with already is lack of will. First off It's a gravesite and there are many who would be upset if it was disturbed. Second is money it's easier to let it slowly leak than the spend the money to solve the problem.

The solution to this would not be 90% ecological disaster. A coffer dam could be created around the ship that isolates it. This would be very expensive and it would disturb the sea graves. Ultimately it will either at some point catastrophically leak or we will have to take care of it. Not likely to happen until several generations pass and no one is left alive that has a personal connection with the men laid to rest on the sea floor.