NAVSEA Diving, Salvage Experts Lead Navy Assistance to Free Intrepid
The Naval Sea Systems Command’s (NAVSEA) Supervisor of Salvage and Diving is leading the Navy’s assistance effort to free the ex-Intrepid. The floating museum became stuck in sediment Nov. 6 during a tow from Pier 86 in New York City to a New Jersey shipyard for refurbishment and repair. The salvage effort will include actions to inspect, dredge, stabilize and free Intrepid and make it ready for tow. While the Intrepid Museum Foundation received title to the ex-Intrepid after a 1981 Navy donation, the foundation called upon the Navy’s experience to assist in moving the ship. After conducting a hydrographic survey around the berth of the ship…
Navy Enters Final Dredging Stage For USS Intrepid
According to reports, the Navy may be ready to move USS Intrepid from its muddy misery early next month, as it enters the final stages of a dredging operation to free the historic aircraft carrier. Intrepid Foundation officials obtained a monthlong extension on its federal dredging permit Tuesday from the New York State Department of Conservation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, enabling the Navy's dredging work to continue uninterrupted in the Hudson River, according to Bill White, president of Intrepid Museum Foundation. He said the Navy hoped to finish the task and get Intrepid under way by early December. Crews were working around the clock, he said. The famed World War II aircraft carrier, converted in 1982 to a floating military and space museum, became stuck in the mud Nov.
Intrepid to Close for Repairs, Renovation
The aircraft carrier Intrepid, the military museum that has been docked on the Hudson River for 24 years, is scheduled to close on Oct. 1 and will be moved soon afterward to New Jersey for repairs and Staten Island for renovation. The New York Times reported that about a month after the museum closed, the carrier would be towed away from its mooring at Pier 86 and is not expected to return for 18 months. The museum's directors approved the general plan last week after Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the City Council agreed to provide a total of $17 million over the next two years for the overhaul of the carrier and the pier. Gov. George E. Pataki pledged an additional $5 million in state economic development funds.
