Recent changes in design and operational practice have resulted in a number of failures of coppernickel components in sea water systems that have been attributed to exposure to sulfide-polluted, stagnant seawater during shutdowns. In an effort to understand the mechanism of these failures, 70/30 copper-nickel specimens were exposed to flowing seawater until protective films were developed. Some of the specimens were then buried in organic debris that had been allowed to accumulate at the bottom of the tank. These specimens were then re-exposed to flowing seawater after remaining in the sediment for three weeks. Corrosion rates were monitored throughout the experiment using linear polarization resistance. The corrosion rate increased by an order of magnitude when the specimens were re-exposed to flowing seawater. The results also suggest that repair of damaged protective films may take longer than initial film formation. Galvanic corrosion currents were also measured between pairs of 70/30 specimens that were exposed to a number of combinations of flowing and stagnant conditions. Conditions were found that resulted in large galvanic currents between specimens exposed to flowing seawater and those buried in the organic debris, with the latter suffering accelerated corrosion.