Here’s Why the Battleship New Jersey is Moving (and Where It’s Going)

The Navy's most-decorated battleship, Battleship New Jersey, is being moved for the first time in almost 23 years. But why is it leaving its current home along Camden Waterfront and where is it going?

Tugboats will reportedly tow the 45,000-ton vessel away from Camden Waterfront two miles down the Delaware River to the Naval Yard in South Philly where it will be dry docked, Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

I LOVE the Battleship NJ. I learn something new about it every time I visit. That's me and my dad in the photo above.

BATTLESHIP NJ: BY THE NUMBERS

Battleship NJ is 888 feet in length. It reportedly holds the Guinness World Record for knots speed at 35.2 knots.

Philadelphia Naval Yard is a nostalgic place for Battleship New Jersey, which was commissioned in 1939. That's where it was built in 1940 and launched in 1942. It's been recommissioned three times and decommissioned four times, and officially became a museum in 2001.

It needs a slip roughly the size of two football fields, according to inquirer.com.

WHY THE MOVE?

In order to preserve the vessel, the time has come for Battleship New Jersey to undergo some repairs and get a fresh coat of paint.

Marshall Spevak, of Cherry Hill, who is reportedly overseeing the battleship's maintenance, says the project is long overdue and the longer it gets delayed, the more expensive it will be.

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WHEN DOES BATTLESHIP NJ MOVE?

Later this month, the ship's mast and radar equipment will be removed in preparation for its sail underneath the Walt Whitman Bridge on its way to the Navy Yard.

WILL THE SHIP EVER RETURN TO NJ?

The restoration of Battleship New Jersey is expected to take around two months to complete. It'll likely return to Camden Waterfront by Memorial Day Weekend.

In the meantime, contributions to maintain the Battleship NJ and its museum, AND for the drydocking are welcome.