USS NEW JERSEY Comes Home Moran Helps Guide "Big J" on Her Last Voyage Up the Delaware River

Moran Towing was proud to participate with Crowley Marine Services in bringing the USS New Jersey up the Delaware River in her triumphant return to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, where she was built more than 57 years ago. The USS New Jersey wilil be permanently berthed in Camden, NJ. There she will serve as a floating museum and a memorial to those who served aboard her over the past five decades.

Built in 1940, the USS New Jersey, BB-62, is the second of four Iowa-class battleships built for the Navy, and is thought by some to be the finest battleship ever made. Nicknamed "Big J", the battleship is best known for her impressive array of weaponary. Her armament includes triple 16-inch guns mounted on thress turrets and capable of firing 2,700-pound shells a distance of up to 23 miles and 20 5-inch guns in 10 twin mounts. During WWII she also carried 80 40-mm antiaircraft guns in 20 mounts and fifty-seven 20-mm antiaircraft guns. Her modernization in 1982 added eight armored box launchers for 32 Tomahawk cruise missles as well as four quadruple canister launchers for 16 Harpoon antiship missles and four Vulcan/Phalanx weapon systems for aircraft and missle defense. The New Jersey is 887 feet long, weighs 45,000 tons and is capable of traveling at a speed of up to 33+ knots. Her steam turbines deliver 212,000 hp through four shafts. For her exemplary service during WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War and in peacetime engagements throughout the world, she and her crew earned 16 battle starts and numerousother awards, making her the most decorated ship in the U.S. naval history.

The USS New Jersey was decommissioned for the last time in 1991 and until becoming a part of the Navy's Ship Donation Program, had been in storage in Bremerton, Washington.

The battleship now joins 45 other ships that thje Navy has donated to locations in 21 states throughout the U.S. to create ship museums. Before donating a ship the Navy evaluates the applicant's proposed sire and financial, mooring, maintenance, towing, environmental and curatorial plans. Obtaining the USS New Jersey was particularly rewarding for the city of Camden and the state of New Jersey, since the Big J was originally constructed bu workers who lived in the area surrounding where she will become a museum.

Crowley Marine Services of Washington State was hired by the State of New Jersey to bring the NEW JERSEY to Philadelphia. this involved towing the giant battleship down the Pacific Coast from Washington State, through the Panama Canal and then up the Atlantic Coast to the Delaware River to its interim berth at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, a total of 5,800 miles. Crowley's tug SEA VICTORY, under the command of Captain Kaare Ogaard, Jr., departed Puget Sound Naval Base with the NEW JERSEY in tow on September 12, 1999, and arrived in Philadelphia on November 11, Veteran's Day. the massive battleship that once carried a crew of close to 2,000 made most of her voyage with on one onboard and with engines and propellers stilled. The battleship was originally scheduled to arrive on November 6th, but she was delayed buy almost a week. Dome believe that it was divine intervention that brought her home on Veteran's Day.

On her journey up the Delaware River, the NEW JERSEY was welcomed by a flotilla of pleasure craft anmd thousands of admirers who lined the shores of various locations along the river. Whe she arrived in Philafdelphia, bug J was greeted by dignitaries, Navy officials and a crowd of morte than 25,000. The National Guard marked the occasion with a fly-over by four F-16 National Guard fighter jets abd a 19-gun salute. It was a day of reminiscing for former sailors, shipbuilders and many others whose lives in someway had been affected by Big J.

To ensure the safe passage of the giant battleship through the narrow ship channel and changing tides of the Delaware River, the SEA VICTORY was joined by two Moran tugs, the CAPE CHARLES and the BART TURECAMO, each on a side, as well as one additional Crowly tug at the stern. Onboard the NEW JERSEY were Crowley's Capt. Allan Anderson, Captain John Flynn and Virgil Quillen fro The Docking Pilots Association LLC and 10 line handlers.

The docking operation in Philadelphia required that the additional Moran tugs, the CYNTHIA MORAN and the JAMES TURECAMO, assisit the four tugs that had escorted the NEW JERSEY up the Delaware River. The ship was turned and slowly backed into a position parallel to Pier 4. Slack current aided in gently nudging her alongside the pier. While the expertise of the people involved made the docking appear routine, John Gazzola, Moran's Vice President and General Manager at the Port of Philadelphia, said that he began coordinating operations with the Crowley two months prior to the battleship's arrival.

When the USS NEW JERSEY moves to her permanent berth in Camden, New Jersey, she will be an integral part of the Camden waterfront and will be accessible to all who have an interest in her. To many, her presence wqill be much more tahn a tourist attraction. As Congressman Robert E. Andrews (NJ) said, "It's a powerful emotional symbol of the commitment of a whole generation of people made to this country."