Dry Dock Trip May Not Happen
Posted: 11-10-2003 04:46 AM
There's important news brewing around the USS Texas. The proposed drydock trip, which had been scheduled for 2OO5, then 2OO4, may not happen at all. There are numerous reasons for this, and the news is not necessarily bad.
Okay, first of all, the bad news; the cost of the next drydock trip will be in the range of $12-15 million dollars. That pays for the tow (both ways) and the work done to the ship. Second, there is the risk of theft of artifacts & other ship items. And third (and most important) she's a 9O-year-old ship; she has leaks where she sits. To tow her could put stresses on her hull, which could expand these leaks. There's also the problem of her internal structural integrity. By the year 2OO7, she may be too fragile to actually tow. And then there's the possibility of a catastrophic event as the result of an open-gulf tow. By that I mean a potential scuba-diving reef.
So, what are the alternatives? That's where the good news begins. The ship/park's staff & the Battleship Texas Foundation have the attention of the highest level of the parks' department. They are going to take some time and work up the three best proposal ideas. The basic theory to go with now is to pull her out of her slip, build a cofferdam & pump out the water, and then concrete her slip to form a permanent drydock. This would allow her future work to be performed onsite, and she would never have to leave again. Another option is fot the Port of Houston to obtain a floating drydock, which could be used whenever she needed repairs.
Right now all this is up in the air and proposals are all pending. If the drydock plans go through, it will be the largest such project of any American museum ship.
Okay, first of all, the bad news; the cost of the next drydock trip will be in the range of $12-15 million dollars. That pays for the tow (both ways) and the work done to the ship. Second, there is the risk of theft of artifacts & other ship items. And third (and most important) she's a 9O-year-old ship; she has leaks where she sits. To tow her could put stresses on her hull, which could expand these leaks. There's also the problem of her internal structural integrity. By the year 2OO7, she may be too fragile to actually tow. And then there's the possibility of a catastrophic event as the result of an open-gulf tow. By that I mean a potential scuba-diving reef.
So, what are the alternatives? That's where the good news begins. The ship/park's staff & the Battleship Texas Foundation have the attention of the highest level of the parks' department. They are going to take some time and work up the three best proposal ideas. The basic theory to go with now is to pull her out of her slip, build a cofferdam & pump out the water, and then concrete her slip to form a permanent drydock. This would allow her future work to be performed onsite, and she would never have to leave again. Another option is fot the Port of Houston to obtain a floating drydock, which could be used whenever she needed repairs.
Right now all this is up in the air and proposals are all pending. If the drydock plans go through, it will be the largest such project of any American museum ship.