USS Texas springs more leaks; 1,500 gallons per minute leaking

Julio Zaccagni (left) and Don Cade, both former Battleship TEXAS crew members, share a laugh during the 2011 USS TEXAS Veteran's Reunion at the Battleship TEXAS State Historic Site, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011, in LaPorte. (Michael Paulsen / Houston Chronicle) less Julio Zaccagni (left) and Don Cade, both former Battleship TEXAS crew members, share a laugh during the 2011 USS TEXAS Veteran's Reunion at the Battleship TEXAS State Historic Site, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011, in ... more Image 1 of / 11 Caption Close USS Texas springs more leaks; 1,500 gallons per minute leaking 1 / 11 Back to Gallery

Workers aboard the USS Texas hardly had time to celebrate the patching of a 2-inch hole in the century-old battleship's bottom before rivet and seam leaks once again catapulted the vessel into a crisis situation.

On Saturday night, ship manager Andy Smith said, water gushed through leaks in the ship's rear port side at a rate of 100 gallons per minute. By Sunday morning, the back third of the ship was flooded to the water line and hard aground.

The adverse developments came just one day after Smith, who manages the vessel for the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife, declared that the main and several smaller leaks had been patched and de-watering operations completed.

On Monday, Smith said workers have found two areas with serious leaks. One consists of three leaks; the second has "a couple of holes, a seam leak and at least three rivet leaks all in the same vicinity," he said.

Smith placed the volume of the leaks on Monday morning at about 1,500 gallons per minute. Additionally, he said, oil abatement workers were again summoned to the vessel after an oil sheen was spotted at the battleship's berth.

The ship, which served in both world wars, has been on exhibit at the San Jacinto Battlefield State Historic Site since 1948. In 1988, the vessel underwent repairs at a Galveston ship yard; in 2007, Texas voters approved a $25 million bond issue to repair and dry berth the ship.

Smith said examination of the ship's bottom revealed it to be badly corroded. As long as the vessel remains in salt water, he said, it will be subject to leaks.

The ship, which had reopened Saturday, is now closed indefinitely.

allan.turner@chron.com