Battleship Texas Has Leak - Historum

**tjadams** · June 13th, 2012, 06:55 PM

Crews Fight to Fix Leak, Keep Historic Battleship Texas Afloat
By Molly Hennessy-Fiske|June 13, 2012, 10:33 a.m.

Quote:

HOUSTON -- Crews have been working 24-hour days to keep the leaky battleship Texas afloat.
The historic battleship, which just turned 100 years old in May, is among
six remaining vessels that served in World War I and World War II.
Ship Manager Andy Smith told The Times that crews noticed the ship was taking on water Saturday and have been working ever since to find and patch the leak.
“We’re pretty stable,” Smith said Wednesday. “There’s no imminent danger.”
Smith said workers hope to finish clearing out residual oil Wednesday, being careful not to let any oil seep into the Buffalo Bayou and the busy Houston Ship Channel, where the ship is anchored.
“The next steps will be pump down and assess what’s going on, find the hole. We might be able to patch it, fix it right then, or come up with a plan to fix it,” he said.

Crews fight Battleship Texas leak - latimes.com

PragmaticStatistic · June 14th, 2012, 07:11 AM

So I guess I may soon have to move it from my map of Historic Ships Preserved in Google Map to my map of Sunken Ships?

bil73 · June 14th, 2012, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PragmaticStatistic

So I guess I may soon have to move it from my map of Historic Ships Preserved in Google Map to my map of Sunken Ships?

LOL!!!

dimmit · June 14th, 2012, 07:47 AM

The sad fact is that this ship has been neglected for decades. The State of Texas spends a pittance on upkeep and maintenance on this historic ship and it sits in one of the most polluted waterways in the Western Hemisphere (i.e. the Houston Ship Channel). And let's not even get into the fact that the air in that part of Houston is essentially toxic as it is surrounded by chemical plants and oil refineries. I'm actually surprised the poor ship hadn't dissolved by now.

The State of Massachusetts can upkeep and maintain the USS Constitution, a wooden ship of sail that is 100 years older that the Battleship Texas. But they actually spend money on upkeep and place the ship in an area that tourists want to visit. The State of Texas spends almost nothing to upkeep the Battleship Texas and have allowed the expansion and growth of dangerous industrial plants to make this part of Houston a no-go area. I certainly wouldn't want to spend too much time over there.

The ship should be moved to Corpus Christi or South Padre Island where it is less polluted. Or better yet, give it to a state that actually cares about historical preservation.

**pikeshot1600** · June 14th, 2012, 08:06 AM

Naval vessels are merely tools. None have been expected to last more than the time it takes to launch something newer and better.

The only reason USS Texas and others lasted until WW II is because of the limitations of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty.

Unfortunately this is the same as USS Olympia in Philadelphia. She is old and leaking and it isn't worth saving her - or the Texas either.

**tjadams** · June 14th, 2012, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dimmit

The sad fact is that this ship has been neglected for decades. The State of Texas spends a pittance on upkeep and maintenance on this historic ship..

Sad and true.

Quote:

The ship should be moved to Corpus Christi or South Padre Island where it is less polluted. Or better yet, give it to a state that actually cares about historical preservation.

Agreed. If the condition of the ship is made known, proper actions could
be taken and yes, it needs to be moved instead of a book end to the
San Jacinto field.

**diddyriddick** · June 14th, 2012, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dimmit

The sad fact is that this ship has been neglected for decades. The State of Texas spends a pittance on upkeep and maintenance on this historic ship and it sits in one of the most polluted waterways in the Western Hemisphere (i.e. the Houston Ship Channel). And let's not even get into the fact that the air in that part of Houston is essentially toxic as it is surrounded by chemical plants and oil refineries. I'm actually surprised the poor ship hadn't dissolved by now.

The State of Massachusetts can upkeep and maintain the USS Constitution, a wooden ship of sail that is 100 years older that the Battleship Texas. But they actually spend money on upkeep and place the ship in an area that tourists want to visit. The State of Texas spends almost nothing to upkeep the Battleship Texas and have allowed the expansion and growth of dangerous industrial plants to make this part of Houston a no-go area. I certainly wouldn't want to spend too much time over there.

The ship should be moved to Corpus Christi or South Padre Island where it is less polluted. Or better yet, give it to a state that actually cares about historical preservation.

The USS Constitution is a commissioned warship of the United States Navy and is wholly owned by the taxpayers of the United States of America-not the state of Massachussets. Your comparison is inapt.

This is really not a surprise. Saltwater is extremely corrosive and the Texas has been in the same berth since shortly after WWII. In fact, we are having a similar problem with USS North Carolina which is half as old as the Texas. The bottom line is it costs LOTS of dollars to maintain iron hulled warships over time-much moreso than wooden-hulled ones. Hopefully, they will be able to come up with the money to fix this problem.

**diddyriddick** · June 14th, 2012, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pikeshot1600

Naval vessels are merely tools. None have been expected to last more than the time it takes to launch something newer and better.

The only reason USS Texas and others lasted until WW II is because of the limitations of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty.

Unfortunately this is the same as USS Olympia in Philadelphia. She is old and leaking and it isn't worth saving her - or the Texas either.

While I agree that using taxpayers money to sustain naval vessels like this is probably not the best use of public money, I would disagree on Olympia since she is arguably a historically significant artifact (Dewey's flagship.)

**tjadams** · June 14th, 2012, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diddyriddick

The USS Constitution is a commissioned warship of the United States Navy and is wholly owned by the taxpayers of the United States of America-not the state of Massachussets. .

Good catch. I knew there was far, far more to preserving Old Ironsides
than school kids collecting nickles in jars. I just couldn't come up with the
answer.

bil73 · June 14th, 2012, 11:09 AM

I think it would be safe to bet that the money the north carolina and texas bring in each day arent used for the up keep of the ship (Im sure a small % is but not nearly enough)