The Battleship North Carolina’s efforts to repair the ship’s hull got a boost Wednesday, as the Battleship’s executive director Terry Bragg announced a $250,000 grant from Wells Fargo Foundation.
The quarter-million-dollar grant is a leading donation in the capital campaign to make the needed repairs and preserve the ship, according to a news release. Battleship officials have previously said that repairs to the historic World War II vessel, which is entirely self-supported, will cost $17 million.
“Wells Fargo is proud to support the effort to refurbish the Battleship North Carolina,” Ron Hankins, business banking manager for Wells Fargo in Charlotte, said in the release. “This investment connects directly with our vision and values, and helps demonstrate our ongoing and deep commitment to North Carolina, as well as our support of active military and veterans. This effort will also enhance the ability of future generations to experience the ship and understand the crucial role it played in defending our country. At Wells Fargo, we’re responsible for promoting the long-term economic prosperity and quality of life for everyone in our communities. If they prosper, so do we.”
In exchange for getting the ship as a permanent fixture of the Cape Fear River landscape in 1961, the State of North Carolina agreed to maintain the vessel as a memorial to its World War II veterans and to enhance the Battleship’s value as an historical and educational resource, the release stated. While maintenance has been done regularly, the ship has never been drydocked for major repairs since it arrived at its permanent home at Eagle Island.
“Ships are meant to be pulled out of the water every few years and inspected. The last time the North Carolina was pulled out was in the late 1940s, before it was mothballed,” the ship’s assistant director Chris Vargo said in an interview in March 2013.
The USS North Carolina has remained among eastern North Carolina's top tourist attractions, drawing greater numbers of visitors in the past couple of years, according to Battleship officials. Between Oct. 1, 2011 and Sept. 30, 2012, more than 216,000 visitors paid to tour the historic landmark. In calendar year 2013, the ship logged nearly 212,000 visitors, according to a list compiled annually by Carolinas Publishing.
