Shipyard, museum locking down final details to get battleship docked

PHILADELPHIA — Where does a 45,000-ton battleship “sit” when it comes in for a dry dock checkup? Right where dockmaster Phil Giles says it will.

Giles will lead a work crew that literally will walk the Battleship New Jersey (BB-62) off the Delaware River into Dry Dock 3 at the Navy Yard and then tie it down.

“Sitting” is how repair yards refer to the process of slowly dropping a ship onto precisely calculated rows of concrete and wood blocks that will hold its weight — and keep it centered and stable — during inspections and repairs.

As dockmaster, Giles has the first and last words on handling the ship after four tugs have turned it so its stern faces the entrance of Dry Dock 3.

How big? How fast? How much? Battleship New Jersey by the numbers. Here are some interesting facts

The concrete dry dock is the heart of Philadelphia Ship Repair, an arm of Boston-based North Atlantic Ship Repair.

It's 1,011 feet long and 144 feet wide, with a 50-foot climb from top to bottom. BB-62 is unpowered, 887 feet long, and with a beam (width) of 108 feet.

How will Battleship New Jersey enter the dry dock?

Chief Operating Officer Donna Connors said Giles and an apprentice will be at either side of Dry Dock 3 as New Jersey is “crossing the sill” or entrance. “And they’ll physically walk down either side of the pier with the ship, watching the ship and seeing how it comes in,” she said.

Eight lines will be attached on either side of the ship, with teams of four workers per line pulling to keep it centered in the flooded dry dock. At the far end of the dry dock, a line from the rear of the ship will be secured to a capstan that will revolve to slowly haul in the New Jersey.

The dry dock opened in 1921, and it is where BB-62 underwent much of its post-launch construction in 1942 and 1943. The New Jersey was in Philly again, but not in dry dock, in November 1999 for limited restoration before heading in October 2001 to its berth in Camden and a new career as a museum.

The supporting blocks at the bottom of the dry dock are being laid out just as they were in all past visits. Workers recently were doing final measurements and adjustments.

On March 21, New Jersey will leave its berth on Camden's Waterfront for a trip of eight nautical miles down the Delaware River to Paulsboro. Four tugs from McAllister Towing will push and pull the battleship, since its own boilers and turbines are not working.

The ship's water-filled ballast tanks will be reset to level the New Jersey as much as possible.

Six days after arriving in Paulsboro, the vessel's expected to travel another 3.5 nautical miles to Philadelphia Ship Repair.

The plan is for it to enter the dry dock after 4 p.m. March 27.

“We’ll be in contact with McAllister through the whole process,” Connors said. “The day prior, we’ll do a final inspection. We’ll do what we call the ‘dock walk,’ with the customer, with ourselves.”

Battleship move timed for high tide

The anticipated arrival date was a calculated choice. Even with the New Jersey running unloaded, and a draft of about 28 feet, as much clearance underneath the keel as possible is desirable.

Lead rigger Dan Trammell said March 27 is one of four days in the year when the shipyard is aided by exceptionally high tides. “We’re able to clear everything coming in,” he said.

“It’s 37-foot across the sill at mean low water,” Connors said. “The tidal range here is about 5-foot, if I remember. So, we utilize that that 5-foot tide … to give us that extra room to get it over the `sill’, as we call it.”

Before the ship arrives in Philadelphia, a sluice gate will be raised to let in about 6 million gallons of river water. That flooding will take place quickly.

Around 1 p.m., with the dry dock flooded, it’s the caisson gate’s turn to move. The caisson is filled with water to force it down and act like a cork for the dry dock entrance. The water will be pumped out, it floats upward, and is swung out into the river.

At that point, New Jersey is free to enter the dry dock stern first. The tugs will not enter the dry dock, though.

Connors said pumps will empty the dry dock in about three hours. The pumping will stop with 2 to 3 feet of water left, and that’s when divers will make sure supporting blocks are in place and no debris is present.

"We will get the vessel to 2 feet above the blocks at 21:45 Wednesday night and tie it off for the night," Connors said. "Divers will go down Thursday morning at 07:30.  At 10:00, they should clear us to start pumping again and we will be dry by 17:00.

Connors said times are approximate with the process.

"We try to stay on schedule but things happen along the way that slows the process down," she said. "Or, it may go well and we get it docked earlier."

The most spectacular view may be for passengers on the jets that constantly fly low over the facility landing and departing from Philadelphia International Airport. Connors enjoys the view regularly.

“When I’m on the right side of the plane, when I fly in?” Connors said. “I purposely seat myself in the window because when we fly over. It’s literally over the dry dock. It’s beautiful pictures.”

Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey 36 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.

Have a tip? Reach out at jsmith@thedailyjournal.com. Support local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Tug escort just opening act for Battleship New Jersey dry docking