Aircraft carrier stuck in New York City mud

[ZeoBandit]

Aircraft carrier stuck in New York City mud

NEW YORK (AP) -- The legendary aircraft carrier USS Intrepid got stuck in the deep Hudson River mud Monday as powerful tugboats fought to pull it free to tow the floating museum downriver for a $60 million overhaul.

The mission was scrubbed for the day at around 10:30 a.m. as the tide went down, said Dan Bender, a Coast Guard spokesman. There was no immediate word when the effort would resume.

After 24 years at the same pier on Manhattan's West Side, the World War II warship began inching backward out of its berth, but moved only about 15 feet before its giant propellers jammed in the thick mud. The decommissioned war ship no longer has engines of its own.

"We knew it was not going to come out like a cruise ship," said Matt Woods, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum's vice president for operations.

Six tugboats had strained to move the giant ship.

"We were able to move her 15 feet, and then she came to a halt. We tried to add more power with another tugboat but we couldn't wiggle her free," said Jeffrey McAllister, the chief pilot of the tugboat operation.

"We were missing our open window. We had to give up because the tides were going down," he added. "She was moving, we were hopeful, she started to creep along but then she stopped."

"It was very disappointing," said McAllister.

Monday's departure was timed to take advantage of the yearly high tide so the tugs could pull the 27,000-ton ship out of the slip where it has rested in up to 17 feet of mud. Removal of 600 tons of water from the Intrepid's ballast tanks gave the ship added buoyancy, and dredges removed 15,000 cubic yards of mud to create a channel from dockside to deeper water.

The carrier's $60 million refurbishment, which is expected to take up to 2 years, will include opening up more interior spaces to the public, upgrading its exhibits and a bow-to-stern paint job in naval haze-gray. The pier will also be completely rebuilt in the Intrepid's absence. The city is contributing $17 million, the state $5 million, the federal government $36 million, plus $2 million in private funds.

Just before the ceremony, officials expressed optimism about being able to move the aircraft carrier.

"The people doing this have moved a thousand ships bigger than the Intrepid," Intrepid president Bill White said earlier. "A ship that survived five kamikaze attacks is going to make it five miles down river."

Elected officials, veterans who served on the Intrepid and others had waited on the flight deck for the beginning of the journey five miles down the river to a dry dock in Bayonne, New Jersey. Helicopters flew overhead; New York Police Department blue-and-white power boats, Fire Department boats and a Coast Guard cutter were on hand to accompany the aircraft carrier.

"The Intrepid stands for everything we believe in ... our freedom and our values," Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said at the sendoff ceremony before the tugs began their work.

Two former mayors, Edward Koch and David Dinkins, cast off the final mooring lines at the order of 80-year-old retired Rear Adm. J. Lloyd "Doc" Abbot Jr., who served two years as Intrepid's skipper in 1960-62 and has been named honorary commander for the day.

"It was the best job I ever had," Abbot said, standing once again on the ship's deck. "Intrepid had a soul of her own. How can a hunk of iron have a soul, you may ask. But I loved her. She kept me safe and at times I kept her safe."

The Intrepid serves as a living memorial to the arms services, a tourist attraction that draws hundreds of thousands people a year and, if the need arises, will become as an emergency operation center for city and federal authorities. The FBI used it as an operation center after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

[lal5150]

that was the first thing i visited in nyc when i moved there back in 1983. the we went to eat in times square. memories.lol

[punk5150]

I saw this.
I actually live in Bayonne, New Jersey where the ship is expected to dry dock for the next 2 years.

[ZeoBandit]

I have always wanted to see this exhibit. I guess I'll have to wait a few years until it reopens (If they ever get the carrier out of the mud).

[ZeoBandit]

Navy to help get USS Intrepid out of mud trap
POSTED: 11:40 a.m. EST, November 11, 2006

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Navy will help move the historic aircraft carrier USS Intrepid from its muddy berth in the Hudson River to New Jersey for repairs, officials said Saturday.

The agreement comes after the floating carrier museum refused to budge Monday despite tugboats' attempts to pull it from the mud at its Manhattan pier.

The ship has rested in the spot for 24 years.

Under the agreement -- hammered out after four days of talks between officials of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum and the Pentagon -- the Navy will give salvage support to try to free the vessel. That support will fall within guidelines of the Army Corps of Engineers permit issued to the museum for dredging.

Still unknown is when the operation will be finished and the carrier towed to Bayonne, New Jersey.

"The Intrepid Museum is thankful to the Navy and to the Army Corps of Engineers for the great help they are providing to this effort," Arnold Fisher, the museum chairman, said in a statement.

The Intrepid was at the center of World War II in the Pacific after it was deployed in 1943.

It now serves as a memorial to the armed services, a tourist attraction that draws hundreds of thousands of people a year. It is also equipped to become an emergency operation center for city and federal authorities. The FBI used it as an operation center after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The carrier's refurbishment is to include the opening of more interior spaces to the public, upgrading of exhibits and a bow-to-stern paint job. The pier is also to be rebuilt in the Intrepid's absence.

[ZeoBandit]

You would think they would of thought of mud build up before trying to move the carrier......

Intrepid could be stuck in muck for weeks
POSTED: 8:36 p.m. EST, November 14, 2006

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Scuba divers got a close look Tuesday at the muck trapping the historic aircraft carrier Intrepid in the Hudson River.

Divers surveyed the Intrepid's hull as they began efforts to determine the amount and composition of the material packed around its stern, rudders and running gear.

The World War II era ship -- now a museum -- got stuck more than a week ago as it began what was to be a trip to a new berth.

In addition to the divers, the Navy was on hand managing a dredging effort, supported by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Crews working Tuesday said they have no idea yet how long the Intrepid will remain stuck.

Bill White, president of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, told CNN the recovery effort could take weeks.

A concern is ensuring that dredging around the Intrepid will not pose any health risks, he said.

Museum officials had planned to tow the Intrepid stern-first five miles downriver on November 6 to a shipyard at Bayonne, New Jersey, for restoration and repairs.

It became stuck almost immediately.

Having to abort the move cost close to $1 million. Work for the move included monitoring levels of the Hudson River tides and currents. But all the preparation work proved to be no match for the mud.

The Intrepid, launched in 1943 and decommissioned in 1974, is one of just a few Essex-class carriers still in the water six decades after spearheading the naval defeat of Japan in the Pacific.

In addition to also serving in the Vietnam and Korean wars, it was a recovery ship for NASA astronauts.

Real estate developer Zachary Fisher purchased it in 1981, realizing his dream of turning the ship into the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum a year later.

It has become one of New York's major tourist attractions, drawing some 700,000 visitors a year.

The museum complex also includes a Cold War era diesel-powered submarine, a Concorde supersonic airliner and several historic military aircraft.

[sisca]

I saw this.
I actually live in Bayonne, New Jersey where the ship is expected to dry dock for the next 2 years.

bayonne? dude, i am SO sorry.

[KRAMER5150]

they freed it

[ZeoBandit]

It's about time. Next time maybe they'll check the mud levels first!

[chefcraig]

Almost a month to the day.

About the expected progress rate, however. It only took 4 days of bickering to decide who would try to move the damned thing in the first place.

Ships destroy reefs off of the coast of Florida continually by running up on them and getting stuck. The damage is considerable to fish and wildlife in the area. Yet they are moved quite quickly to ensure that less damage than more occurs.

The Intrepid was stuck in mud. What gives?

[ZeoBandit]

Here's the article:

USS Intrepid freed from mud, under way
POSTED: 10:09 a.m. EST, December 5, 2006
Story Highlights
• NEW: USS Intrepid freed from mud, being towed down Hudson River
• On first attempt, last month, the retired aircraft carrier was only moved a few feet
• Plan is to move ship five miles to New Jersey shipyard for overhaul
• Intrepid was decommissioned in 70s, has been a military museum since 1982

NEW YORK (AP) -- A month after a failed attempt to move the USS Intrepid, the historic aircraft carrier was freed Tuesday from the Hudson River anchorage where it had sat for nearly a quarter of a century.

"This old baby is moving," a joyous Intrepid Foundation President Bill White said aboard the vessel.

Some crew members cried and gave each other high-fives and hugs. Onlookers ashore cheered.

"It's like it used to be, only better. There's no bloodshed," said elated passenger Felix Novelli, who served on the Intrepid crew during World War II.

After considerable effort, the historic aircraft carrier-turned-museum inched haltingly away from its anchorage.

Finally, it began moving at about 3 to 4 knots, its pier growing more and more distant.

"Move baby, move baby!" the crew and passengers yelled. Then, "We did it, we did it!"

In the previous attempt, thick mud had proved too strong for six "tractor tugs" exerting some 30,000 horsepower.

A battle occured this time, too -- the blue water was churned dark brown as tugboats strained to inch the giant vessel away from its longtime home.

"If she doesn't move, we are going to jump in and push her," a former crew member, 84-year-old Joe Kobert, said on the Intrepid's deck before the behemoth began to move on Tuesday.

Asked later if he was glad he didn't have to push the ship, Cobert said, "We did push. All the crew members. How do you think we got out of there?"

Recalling his years on the ship, Cobert said, "It brings back memories. It was always thrilling when we were under way. We'd yell to everyone onshore, 'See Ya when we get back."'

The smaller boats moved the ship stern first into the center of the Hudson River, then nudged the bow until it was parallel with the shore and began heading downstream.

The carrier was being towed, still backward, down the river toward New York Harbor for a five-mile trip to a shipyard in Bayonne, New Jersey, where it will undergo renovations.

A Fire Department boat sailed alongside the Intrepid, shooting red, white and blue colored water from its hoses. River traffic resumed after being halted while the ship was pulling away from the pier.

On the first attempt, on November 6, the 36,000-ton carrier budged only a few feet before the propellers dug into the bottom, the tide dropped, and the mission was scrubbed.

Three weeks of dredging removed nearly 40,000 cubic yards of muck from under the ship and around its four giant screws. Based on an assessment by military engineers and tugboat operators, officials had said they expected a smooth departure for the 64-year-old World War II hero ship.

The Intrepid survived five Japanese kamikaze suicide plane attacks and lost 270 crew members in the last two years of the Pacific war. It later served off Korea and Vietnam and as a recovery ship for NASA astronauts.

Decommissioned in the late 1970s, it was destined for the salvage yard when rescued by New York developer Zachary Fisher and transformed into a floating military and space museum that opened in 1982, recently drawing upward of 700,000 visitors a year.

Intrepid officials said the $60 million overhaul, lasting up to two years, would include stem-to-stern "refurbishment and renovation" to repair deterioration and open up long-closed areas to the public.

The ship's exhibits were put in storage and most of its 20-plus vintage warplanes were shrink-wrapped for protection during the hiatus.

[chefcraig]

Thanks, Zeo. Unreal.

[ZeoBandit]

It is. This is why you plan for things and investigate ahead of time!!! Wonder how much money it cost to dredge out around the ship?

[InTheBeginning]

Wonder how much money it cost to dredge out around the ship?

About $3.5 mil according to the news clip I just watched on Comcast.

[ZeoBandit]

USS Intrepid
Tribune wire reports
2:22 PM CDT, October 2, 2008

The USS Intrepid, a World War II aircraft carrier, has returned to a Manhattan pier where it has served as a military and space museum for 24 years.

Onlookers gathered along the Hudson River banks as the Intrepid, powered by tugs, was taken Thursday on its five-mile journey from Staten Island. Some 400 guests and former crew members were on board.

The Intrepid Sea Air & Space Museum was moved in late 2006 for extensive repairs and improvements.

Launched in 1943 as one of the Navy's then-new Essex-class attack carriers, USS Intrepid figured in six major Pacific campaigns during World War II. It later saw service in the Korean and Vietnam wars and was twice a recovery ship for NASA astronauts.