For the first time in nearly 26 years, the Battleship Wisconsin has moved — just a few feet — so crews can replace deteriorated marine fenders between the ship and the pier at Nauticus museum in downtown Norfolk.
The operation began around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday with the removal of the gangway that takes visitors on and off the ship. A few hours later, crews pulled out a fender with the help of Crofton Industries tugboats.
Stephen Kirkland, Executive Director of Nauticus, said the move required extensive preparation.
“It takes a lot of planning, it takes a lot of physics,” he told News 3, adding that Nauticus spent roughly a year getting the Wisconsin ready for the move. “We’ve literally been planning this for a year. I know it sounds crazy, but we have. Everything from the IT lines that go onto the battleship and the phone lines and the electrical currents and the water hookups. All of that had to be thought through,” Kirkland said…