The Battleship North Carolina has been a fixture of Wilmington’s riverfront for more than 50 years, and it is long past due for some extensive hull work. A public-private fundraising campaign has raised $10.9 million toward the estimated $17 million cost of repairs and enhancements, and the N.C. Battleship Commission may soon get $3 million from the state.
The state House included $3 million in its budget toward the renovations. Now the measure goes to the Senate. If it leaves that chamber intact or a compromise can be negotiated in the budget conference committee, the project will be well on its way to full funding.
There is some urgency. In 2009 the USS North Carolina Battleship Commission received a letter from the Navy ordering repairs be made to the aging, permanently docked ship, or the commission make plans to scrap it, said Capt. Terry Bragg, executive director of the battleship memorial.
Although it is retired from service, the Battleship North Carolina still falls under Navy regulations, which typically require dry docking at least every 20 years. The last time the North Carolina was dry docked was 1953, eight years before it came to rest on the western side of the Cape Fear River.
Restoring a steel hull that has been sitting on the river bottom for more than half a century is costly. First, workers need a dry environment. That will require building a cofferdam, an enclosure that allows water to be removed from around the hull. That structure alone is estimated to cost $7 million, and that is before any steel is replaced. The second phase, which will make the actual repairs, will be about $6.5 million.
In addition, the State Employees Credit Union pledged $3 million specifically to build a walkway around the ship, which will provide visitors a different vantage point.
Design on the cofferdam has already begun, and Bragg hopes to be able to award a contract before Christmas so construction may begin after the first of the year.
There is considerable support for the battleship in the state Senate, said Kevin Cherry, deputy secretary of the Department of Cultural Resources. He was not sure Monday how much money is being considered for inclusion in Senate budget but was confident the legislature will allot funds for the restoration.
“The battleship has a lot of support in both houses,” he said. “No one wants to see it sink.”
The Battleship North Carolina is one of Wilmington’s most popular attractions. Last year more than 200,000 people visited, and attendance is up 5 percent so far this year.
The public-private fundraising campaign was called the Generations Campaign because it is raising money to protect the battleship for the next 40 years. That message extends to the exhibits as well. In addition to preserving the structural integrity of the old Show Boat, as it was known, the battleship is also seeing its message retooled to keep it relevant to current and future generations of visitors.
The World War II veterans who knew firsthand the USS North Carolina’s contributions to the Allied victory are dying out at a rate of more than 492 per day, reports the National WWI Museum website. To many young people, the war is as far removed from them as World War I was to baby boomers. But the ship represents more than the battles fought 70-plus years ago.
“We are not a war museum and not just focused on the engagements and battles of World War II,” Bragg said. The new mission is to honor all veterans who have served their country, and to illustrate the many sacrifices they make in wartime. The commission also has one of the largest World War II collections in the Southeast, now accessible online. Technology is also enhancing exhibits on board.
“We’re taking the battleship wi-fi,” Bragg said.
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