Retired Aircraft Carrier in Dry Dock for New Look International Traveler / Update: NEW YORK

As a prelude to its first stay out of water in 30 years, the Intrepid, an aircraft carrier that has served as a military museum at the western edge of Manhattan, nestled into a dry dock in Bayonne, New Jersey, on Tuesday. Before sunset, much of the water the ship floated in on had been drained away.

By Wednesday afternoon, the 64-year-old warship was expected to be high and dry, resting upon 212 concrete blocks with its entire hull exposed for the first time since 1977. After that, repair crews were to work power-washing the deck, patching the hull and coating the ship with 6,500 gallons, or 25,000 liters, of gray paint. The overhaul, one stage of a $60 million project, is expected to last about 10 weeks.

After the ship leaves the dry dock, it will be towed to Staten Island for renovation of its interior spaces and the installation of new exhibits. It is scheduled to return to the west side of Midtown Manhattan and reopen as the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in the fall of 2008.

(c) 2007 International Herald Tribune. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Source: International Herald Tribune
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