LA PORTE, Texas — The battleship Texas will close next week for repairs after the 100-year-old vessel began flooding.
Ship manager Andy Smith tells the Houston Chronicle the ship will remain open to visitors this weekend, but is set to close Monday. The battleship, which fought in World Wars I and II and now serves as a memorial and museum to those who sacrificed their lives, will likely remain closed through June 22.
The battleship developed a leak last weekend that quickly flooded the bilge areas beneath the engine room. Officials said Friday that the battleship was still taking on water, but the amount decreased from about 850 gallons per minute to about 100.
Smith says salvage and dive teams will inspect the hull Saturday to come up with a repair plan.
The leak was supposed to be fixed last Wednesday, but obviously that failed. The good news here is that the leak has slowed. The voters here in Texas approved a measure that allocated 25 million dollars to place the Texas in a permanent dry dock. Construction is going to begin in 2014 and end in 2017. I only hope the Texas will remain afloat to see that day. It would be a shame for the Old T to fall victim to a leak after surviving 2 world wars.
Photo Credit: Louis Vest
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