Battleship New Jersey returns to Camden after $10 million in repairs

The Battleship New Jersey has returned home to the Camden waterfront, after undergoing a $10 million facelift in South Philadelphia.

“This ship’s in its best shape since it was deactivated in the early 1990s, so we’re really proud that the ship is going to keep floating open as a museum here in Camden for the next 30 years,” Battleship New Jersey CEO Marshall Spevak said at a Thursday event celebrating the ship’s return.

The ship — 887 feet long, four stories tall, and weighing 45,000 tons — arrived in Camden at 1:29 p.m. on Thursday to a crowd of more than 300 people, including mascots like the Phanatic, Gritty, Swoop, Franklin the Dog, Phang, and the battleship’s very own Black Dragon.

“We see her, we see her,” onlookers cheered from the pier, as they saw the battleship from a distance while listening to BStreetBand’s cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.”

The two-months-long transformation — which included routine maintenance, repairs, and repainting — marked the first time the decorated battleship had ventured out since 2001. The battleship left Camden for a stop in Paulsboro on March 21, then moved to Philadelphia on March 27.

Philadelphia Ship Repair workers repainted and repaired the hull, in addition to replacing anticorrosion technology. The hull project also included an inspection and sealing of about 160 through holes that drew in seawater to cool the engines when the ship was operational. Carpenters installed a new teak deck.

Gov. Phil Murphy allocated $5 million last summer for the project through the N.J. Historical Commission. Camden County also financed the project with $3.2 million in guaranteed revenue bonds, and the Home Port Alliance for the USS New Jersey Inc. raised money to pay for the work.

Ahead of the ship’s arrival, hundreds gathered on the dock in Camden for food and face paint. Many waited patiently for the battleship to return home.

“That’s my ship coming back,” said Jerry Barnish, a radio technician by trade who is now a volunteer helping with radio for the battleship. “I missed it.”

His father worked on the ship as a defense worker in the 1940s. He said he hopes the ship’s return helps to recruit more volunteers.

Dave Stepnowski works alongside Barnish as a volunteer. He said the battleship’s makeover is part of preserving history.

“Keep the history alive,” said Stepnowski, who is retired and whose father served in Korea. “What [veterans] did, what they mean to this country.”

The Battleship New Jersey, or “Big J,” was launched from dry-dock at what was then the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on Dec. 7, 1942, the first anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Production of the ship already was underway before Dec. 7, 1941.

One of four ‘Iowa Class’ battleships produced, Big J is the most decorated vessel in U.S. Navy history. After World War II, the ship was again put into service during the Korean conflict, the Vietnam War, and as part of Ronald Reagan’s defense buildup in 1981. The ship was decommissioned in 1991 and turned into a floating museum in 2001.

When Big J was built, thousands of people were employed at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Thousands also served on it during World War II. The ship is a reminder that their legacy lives on.

“We’re living here on their legacies,” Spevak said. “We hope that we do it justice.”

While Spevak and the crew are finished with their repairs, the dry-docking is just the beginning of a new era for the Big J.

“It is the start of taking this museum to another level, and I’m really proud of the crew that we have here on our team and with tremendous supporters,” Spevak said. “I think we’re really poised to really up our game here.”