USS New Jersey Sets Sail After Two Decades Of Berthing At Philadelphia Navy Yard

The Battleship New Jersey sets sail from the port for the first time in over two decades for significant repairs.

The vessel gets ballasted in Paulsboro, meaning that nearly 2,000 tons of water is being added to the tanks to even the vessel out from its bow to the stern so that when it enters the dry dock based at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 27 March, it is being ensured that the vessel and its hull, when it sits on the blocks placed at the shipyard, it does not crack the hull into two.

Once the activities in Paulsboro are wholly executed, the vessel will be safely towed across the river to the Navy Yard, where it was constructed and then introduced on 7 December 1942. The journey to Drydock 3 from Paulsboro will likely take nearly an hour. Once it is in place, almost 6,000,000 gallons of water in the dock must be adequately drained so that the experts can repair it.

The procedure is just a step in the multifaceted assignment to fix the vessel. The coating will need a retouch and a system that shows that if the vessel’s hull starts rusting, it will convert saltwater into freshwater, as the part of the Delaware River where the ship now rests has become fresh water.

Video Credits: NJ.com/YouTube

Workers will also repair the covers for holes earlier pulled in salt water, which will help cool the engines. Of the 160 covers, at least one has sprung a leak and will be repaired, while the rest will be examined and fixed only if necessary.

A weekend tour schedule has been set up so individuals can go to the drydock and touch the vessel’s hull. Dry dock tours will cost about $225 per ticket and $1000 if one opts for a tour with the vessel’s curator, Ryan Semanski, per Spevak.

Nearly 1,200 tickets have already been purchased, and the rest are expected to sell fast once the vessel floats into the drydock. The tours will help defray repair costs, which are estimated to be $10 million. The exclusive tours will also help offset the additional money that will be spent when the vessel will no longer be open as a museum for the length of the repairs.

Organizers devised a campaign called “Donate to Drydock” to help offset the costs. Construction in New Jersey began in September 1940, before the US officially entered World War II.

It was successfully commissioned for service in 1943, and it witnessed more combat than the other vessels of its class. It also participated in campaigns in the Caroline Islands, the Marshall Islands, New Guinea, the Marianas Islands, the Palau Islands, Iwo Jima, the Philippines, and Okinawa.

The vessel was decommissioned in 1948 and then reactivated in Korea sometime between 1950 and 1957. It headed back to Philly and was modernized from 1967 to 1968 to provide services in Vietnam. After an extended fight regarding what location would host the vessel as a museum, it was berthed at Camden in 2001.

Reference: USNI, NJ

USS New Jersey Sets Sail After Two Decades Of Berthing At Philadelphia Navy Yard appeared first on Marine Insight – The Maritime Industry Guide

Source: Maritime Shipping News