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Battleship New Jersey returns to South Jersey following $10 million facelift

After its $10 million facelift, the famed World War II-era battleship will return to its longtime home and reopen to the public within the next few weeks.

The Battleship New Jersey leaves the dry dock at the Philly Shipyard on Friday morning to cross the Delaware River to the Paulsboro Marine Terminal after undergoing renovations and inspections totaling $10 million.
The Battleship New Jersey leaves the dry dock at the Philly Shipyard on Friday morning to cross the Delaware River to the Paulsboro Marine Terminal after undergoing renovations and inspections totaling $10 million.Read moreAlejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
    by Rob Tornoe
    Updated 
    Published 

After a few treks up and down the Delaware River this spring, the Battleship New Jersey is returning home to the Camden waterfront, but first with a stop in Paulsboro.

The famed World War II-era battleship departed from its dry dock Philadelphia Navy Yard Friday morning following a $10 million face-lift that involved repainting and repairing the ship’s hull and installing a new deck made of teak.

The vessel took a couple of hours to make the trip from South Philly back to the Paulsboro Marine Terminal, where it will remain until Thursday, when it makes the final leg of its journey back to the Camden waterfront (a limited number of tickets are available). The museum is expected to reopen to the public within the next few weeks.

“The goal is to be fully open to the public prior to the July Fourth weekend, if not sooner,” Marshall Spevak, CEO of the Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial, told The Inquirer last month.

You can watch Battleship New Jersey’s return to South Jersey here:

The 45,000-ton vessel has been dry-docked at the same berth where it was built beginning in 1940. It entered service in 1942, one year after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and saw action in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. It was decommissioned in 1991 after about 50 years of military service, and was converted into a floating museum in 2001.

“The battleship is part of the fabric of the community,” Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen said last month. “It’s comforting knowing this piece of American history has been preserved for future generations,”

On Friday, the vessel also carried a special guest — retired Navy Vice Admiral Douglas J. Katz, who served as the Battleship New Jersey’s 18th commanding officer from August 1987 to May 1989.