Battleship USS Texas Gets a Permanent Home

After months of debate, the historic battleship USS Texas has finally found a permanent berth at the port of Galveston. A disagreement between the port authority and the foundation that manages Texas led to uncertainty about the giant WWII warship's future, but it has been resolved to the satisfaction of all parties, and the battleship will soon move to its new home at Galveston's Pier 15.

USS Texas is the only surviving battleship that served during both world wars. Commissioned in 1914, she served on escort duty through WWI. During WWII, she saw action in both the Pacific and the Atlantic theaters, providing shore bombardment with her 14-inch guns during the landings in Morocco, Normandy, Iwo Jima and Okinawa - the most ambitious and costly amphibious operations of the war.

USS Texas retired after WWII, and she has been in the care of the State of Texas' Battleship Texas Commission since 1947. Like all older museum ships, she began to develop issues with leakage, and in 2022 she transited to the nearby Gulf Copper yard to begin a two-year comprehensive refit. Gulf Copper bought a larger (used) drydock to accommodate Texas, completed all below-the-waterline work, and successfully refloated the aging vessel.

However, Texas did not immediately have a place to go. Talks between the Battleship Texas Foundation and the board for Galveston Wharves (Port of Galveston) broke down in October, and the port authority called off negotiations. USS Texas was originally slated to berth in the area of piers 19-21, but this would have put her on the busy and narrow shipping channel, raising a variety of concerns about safety of navigation and hurricane preparedness (related to storm surge concerns). Port director and CEO Rodger Rees told the Houston Chronicle that the conversation was "not getting anywhere," so the board pulled the plug in late October.

The two sides resumed discussions in November, and eventually settled on nearby Pier 15. The site is an industrial wharf that has low utilization and does not figure prominently in port expansion plans, according to Galveston Wharves. It is still within walking distance of the port's busy cruise terminals, and the slip is located off the main channel.

"After years of hard work and dedication, we’re thrilled to have the support of the Wharves Board to bring Texas to Pier 15 in Galveston- just a short walk from Pier 21 and the historic Galveston Strand. Texas, the last ship of its kind, will promote tourism, educate future generations, and create a visitor experience worthy of her crew and legacy," said the Battleship Texas Foundation in a statement.