NS Savannah - Museum Ship

Museum Ship

In 1981, Savannah was obtained via bareboat charter for display at the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum near Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Although the museum had use of the vessel, ownership of Savannah remained with the Maritime Administration, and the Patriots Point Development Authority had to be designated a "co-licensee" for the ship's reactor. Periodic radiological inspections were also necessary to ensure the continued safety of the ship. Once Savannah was open for display, visitors could tour the ship's cargo holds, view the engine room from an observation area, look into staterooms and passenger areas, and walk the ship's decks.

The museum had hoped to recondition and improve the ship's public spaces for visitors, but these plans never materialized. Savannah never drew the visitors that the museum's other ships, notably the aircraft carrier Yorktown, did. When a periodic MARAD inspection in 1993 indicated a need to dry dock Savannah, Patriots Point and the Maritime Administration agreed to terminate the ship's charter in 1994. The ship was moved from the museum and dry docked in Baltimore, Maryland in 1994 for repairs, after which she was moved to the James River Merchant Marine Reserve Fleet near Newport News, Virginia.

The Maritime Administration has not funded decommissioning and removal of the ship's nuclear systems. Savannah had undergone work at Colonna's Shipyard of Norfolk, Virginia, beginning 15 August 2006. That $995,000 job included exterior structural and lighting repairs, removing shipboard cranes and wiring, refurbishing water-damaged interior spaces, and removing mold, mildew and painting some of the interior. On 30 January 2007, she was towed to Pier 23, which is owned by the City of Newport News. On 8 May 2008, Savannah arrived in Baltimore under tow. Savannah may remain in Baltimore through 2016 under a US Maritime Administration contract with the Vane Brothers' Co. at the Canton Marine Terminal in the Canton section of Baltimore.

Since Savannah is historically significant and has been designated a National Historic Landmark, MARAD has expressed interest in offering the ship for preservation once Savannah's decommissioning, decontamination and radiological work is completed. A MARAD spokesman told The Baltimore Sun in May 2008 that the maritime agency envisions the ship's eventual conversion into a museum, but that no investors have yet offered to undertake the project.