USS Texas battleship might have found a permanent place to dock

A new report says that the longstanding battleship that served in both World Wars may have found a permanent home after its been in Galveston for over a year. The USS Texas has been docked in Galveston since September 2022, and the Galveston Wharves Board has authorized staff to put together a lease agreement for the ship, KHOU reports. 

Battleship Texas Foundation, which oversees USS Texas, would still need to obtain permits from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers for the ship to stay in the Port of Galveston. The group would also need an agreement with the Galveston-Texas City Pilots, KHOU reports.

Just last month, the permanent home for USS Texas was up in the air after after a deal with Landry’s and the Port of Galveston to keep the ship at Pier 21 hit a snag. The battleship was at the Galveston Channel at Gulf Copper Dry Dock & Rig Repair at the time. Officials were considering Baytown and Beaumont at the time, but Battleship Texas Foundation said that it was going to look elsewhere after the deal fell through. 

Now, the Port of Galveston CEO Rodger Rees said the lease allows the organization to get permits to put the ship at Pier 21 where it will capture the “nice flow of tourism” and “become part of the Galveston experience,” Rees told KHOU.