The last World War I-era American dreadnought USS Texas (BB-35) will remain in the Port of Galveston as a museum ship, but exactly where is the subject of a new set of negotiations between the trustees of that city’s wharves and the non-profit foundation that leases the battleship.
At a special meeting on Monday, the Board of Trustees of the Galveston Wharves approved the appointment of a three-member panel to “meet as necessary” with the Battleship Texas Foundation to reach a possible agreement for the ship to remain in the city.
The foundation “looks forward to continuing negotiations with the Galveston Wharves Board, as decided during this morning’s special session of the board,” according to a Facebook posting. “We’re grateful for their efforts to clarify their position and the challenges in our negotiations, and are excited to work alongside them in the next steps.”
Attempts by USNI News to reach the foundation by email and telephone for further comment went unanswered.
At the moment, USS Texas, (BB-35), laid down in1912 at Newport News Shipbuilding with service in both world wars, remains pierside at Gulf Copper’s shipyard on nearby Pelican Island. The battleship was towed to the facility in 2022 for a multi-million dollar rebuild of its steel hull. The restorative work is expected to be finished sometime in 2025.
