USS New Jersey, the Navy's largest, fastest and most decorated battleship, is about to embark on its first voyage in more than two decades.
This spring, the historic ship will be in dry dock at the berth where it was built and launched in the 1940s.
USS New Jersey, which was converted into a museum in the 1990s, will be transported by tugboat from the Camden Waterfront to North Atlantic Ship Repair at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
There, the bottom of the impressive ship – which covers more than two football fields – will undergo maintenance for the first time in 32 years.
“The ship needs to be inspected, repainted, updated and returned home to continue the mission,” Camden Mayor Vic Carstarphen told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
USS New Jersey is about to make its first voyage since 2001 as it travels from Camden, New Jersey, to the Philadelphia Navy Yard for routine maintenance
The historic ship won a few military awards in conflicts such as World War II and a Guinness World Record for the fastest speed recorded for a battleship
It was converted into a museum in 1999 and attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year
Navy maintenance guidelines require inactive ships to be drydocked every 20 years, meaning repairs are long overdue.
“That ship means so much to so many people, and it brings so much value to the city, especially to our youth programs,” Cartsarphen said.
In 2023, almost 80,000 people visited the ship. Currently it is open for tours every day of the week.
USS New Jersey is the most honored battleship in Navy history and has claimed distinctions in conflicts including World War II and operations in the Middle East.
During the Cold War, the ship was returned to service by President Ronald Reagan, making it the only American battleship ever commissioned by a sitting president.
It's an Iowa class ship, the largest class of American battleships. In addition to its imposing size, the USS New Jersey set a Guinness World Record for reaching a top speed of 35.2 knots (65.2 km/h) in 1968 and maintaining it for six hours.
In February 1991 the ship was decommissioned for the fourth time. Eight years laterCongress allowed the Navy to turn the USS New Jersey into a museum, provided it be moored in New Jersey's territorial waters.
Now the ship will return home for the first time since 2001.
USS New Jersey is a ship from the Iowa class, the largest class of American battleships. The bottom of the ship is more than the length of two football fields
During the Cold War, the ship was returned to service by President Ronald Reagan, making it the only American battleship ever commissioned by a sitting president.
In February 1991 the ship was decommissioned for the fourth and final time
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced last summer that $5 million in funding for the $10 million project would be provided through the state historical commission.
Camden County is providing $3.2 million in guaranteed revenue bonds, while the Homeport Alliance — the nonprofit that oversees the museum — is raising its own money.
The undertaking involves the meticulous inspection of more than 1,000 zinc nodes that protect the submerged portion of the hull from corrosion.
According to curator Ryan Szimanski, half of them probably need to be replaced.
Approximately 165 underwater vents, designed to allow cooling water into the engines, will also be inspected.
“These openings were covered with sheet metal plates when the ship was decommissioned in 1991, and so far one has failed,” Szimanski explains. 'We need to check them all and replace them where necessary.'
After repairs, which are expected to last approximately two months, the ship will return to Camden before the high season.
Until then, it remains open to the public until one month before the downstream excursion.
The $10 million project will be funded by the New Jersey Historical Commission, Camden County and the nonprofit organization that oversees the museum, known as the Homeport Alliance.
The repairs are expected to take approximately two months and be completed in time for the high season
The project is led by Marshall Spevak, the interim CEO of the Homeport Alliance.
At the helm of towing operations is Capt. Joseph E. Benton III, vice president and general manager of Philadelphia-based McAllister Towing. His team is tasked with towing the ship to Philadelphia and back.
The role is important to Benton, a Navy Reserve port pilot who also took part in the 2001 effort to tow the ship to Camden.
A crane will arrive in mid-January to remove the ship's mast and the broad search radar. This allows the ship to fit under the Walt Whitman Bridge, Spevak explained.
The ship will be surrounded by a 'safety zone' while underway, and the only people on board will be the tow captain and several staff members.
Spevak described himself as “honored” to oversee the project and be part of its history.
“It is a unique opportunity to answer a higher calling of service,” he said.