The Battleship Texas is on the move.
The ship, which was constructed in 1910 and served in both world wars, was decommissioned in 1948 and became a floating museum, docked at the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site in La Porte, near Houston. Today it will be towed to Galveston Bay to undergo $35 million in hull repairs that will take between nine and 12 months to complete.
The ship was scheduled to get going between 5:30 and 6 a.m. to start making its way through the Houston Ship Channel, which will be closed for the move. It’s expected to arrive in Galveston about 3 or 4 p.m.
Just one last sunrise at San Jacinto. Now, we start making the tow to Galveston because we’ve got a date with a dry dock. pic.twitter.com/G9xnhfIx3I
— Battleship Texas (@Battleship_TX) August 31, 2022
Following the repairs, Battleship Texas will have a new, yet-to-be-determined home that will hopefully be more visible and accessible to more visitors, Bruce Bramlett, chief operating officer for the Battleship Texas Foundation, told the Texas Standard.
“I love [San Jacinto State Park] … it’s beautiful. But the ship’s history doesn’t have anything to do with San Jacinto,” he said. “We’re going to take our history with us. It was made thousands of miles from here, and it’ll go wherever the ship goes.”
Tune in to a livestream of the ship’s journey below or by clicking here: