CAMDEN, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — It was sound and fury signifying history on Thursday, as the Battleship New Jersey pushed off from the Camden waterfront for the first time in 25 years. The warship headed south for long-overdue maintenance.
With a blast of its cannon and the sounding of a horn just before noon, the mooring lines came off, and four tugboats pulled the celebrated warship away from its home at the Camden Waterfront. A huge crowd turned out to see the floating memorial and museum begin its slow journey to the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
Gov. Phil Murphy says the ship is an important part of living history. “The USS New Jersey is the most decorated battleship in the history of our nation — just an extraordinary legacy,” he told the assembled crowd. “And the fact that it lives in Camden, New Jersey, is a huge statement about Camden and, I think, more broadly, about Jersey.”
Murphy added it was surreal to see the ship floating down the river.
Jeff Thrasher, who served on the ship from 1982 to 1986, flew in from Huntington Beach, California, to see the ceremony.
“This is my second home, and I love it. I’m going to be back for one of the dry dock tours. I have to,” said Thrasher. “I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”
After the ship arrives at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal Thursday afternoon, it will take a few days to get leveled and balanced before going to dry dock at the Navy Yard for maintenance.
There will be opportunities for people to tour the ship at the Navy Yard, where they’ll even be able to walk underneath it while it’s in dry dock. Battleship officials say they’ve already sold 1,200 tour tickets and would be happy to sell many more to help cover the $10 million cost of maintenance.