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Aug 29, 2023

Battleship NJ To Leave Camden Waterfront For 1st Time In Decades

CAMDEN, NJ — The most-decorated battleship in U.S. Navy history will leave the Camden waterfront for the first time in more than 20 years. The Battleship New Jersey moved to the waterfront in 1999,

CAMDEN, NJ — The most-decorated battleship in U.S. Navy history will leave the Camden waterfront for the first time in more than 20 years.

The Battleship New Jersey moved to the waterfront in 1999, becoming a museum and memorial in that location. The USS New Jersey (BB-62) will embark on a mini voyage to dry-dock for major work in Philadelphia's Navy Yard — just a few miles away.

A departure date has not been set. But the Home Port Alliance — the organization that maintains the ship — believes the work will occur in 2024 and take roughly eight weeks.

Built in 1939 at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, the Battleship was used in conflicts including World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. USS New Jersey earned 19 Battle and Campaign stars — the most of any surviving Navy ship.

The ship last entered battle from 1983-84 for U.S. operations in the Lebanese Civil War and decommissioned for a fourth and final time in 1991. Eight years later, Congress allowed the New Jersey to become a museum. USS New Jersey moved to her permanent berth on Sept. 23, 2001, in Camden.

The ship has been dry-docked — a process of removing a ship from the water to enable work below the waterline — at least three times prior, most recently from 1990-91. The New Jersey Historical Commission will provide $5 million to dry-dock the battleship for repairs.

A tug boat will transport the ship, which can't move under her own power anymore.

"The priority for this project is to remove the marine growth on the hull, repaint the hull, inspect the through-hull openings and other sensitive areas, and replace the anodes used for cathodic protection," a news release says.

In the meantime, the Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial is open for visitors. Tours occur daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.