LOCATION as of 26 March 2022 arrived by to at temporary berth on St John River Riverwalk near Hyatt by tow from Port Arthur TX Gulf Copper & Mfg. Central Yard, 5700 Proctor Street Extension, Port Arthur TX. Entered floating drydock 21 Dec 2021 in Port Arthur TX; undocked/floated out of drydock 24 Feb 2022 and moored dockside for completion of work and preparation for tow to Jacksonville FL. Departed dry dock via tow 17 Mar 2022! LOCATION as of 16 Dec 2021 for drydock work: Port Arthur TX
Port Arthur TX Gulf Copper & Mfg. LOCATION May 2010 to 15 Dec 2021: Calcasieu River at 600-block of N. Enterprise Blvd, Lake Charles LA. as the USS ORLECK Naval Museum. LOCATION Aug 2001 to May 2010: Orange TX as the Southeast Texas War Memorial and Heritage Foundation (SETWMHF)
CURRENT STATUS: The museum ship (ex-USS ORLECK DD-886) was towed from Lake Charles LA to Gulf Copper's Central Yard in Port Arthur TX 15-16 Dec 21 to clean, gauge, and repair the hull as well other repairs and paint the ship. If the drydock effort goes well and is determined fit for the tow from Port Arthur to Jacksonville FL, ORLECK is destined become the flagship of the new Jacksonville Naval Museum. BACKGROUND & HISTORY: The Museum was CLOSED on 3/2/2020 to finalize preparations for tow to dry dock at Gulf Copper Manufacturing in Port Arthur TX on Tuesday, 17 March 20, with work to start about a week later. Unfortunately, the tow was subsequently postponed due to the Emergency Declarations by the Federal and state governments and as we all know, the declarations continued month after month. It has been a rough year for families, businesses, non-profit organizations, churches, and our health care and emergency responder heroes. ORLECK was damaged during Hurricanes LAURA and DELTA in August and October 2020 while awaiting a break in the COVID-19 crisis. Fortunately, on the other hand, the preparations required for tow contributed to the ship staying afloat when she, along with many other vessels on that part of the river, were torn from their moorings in winds of about 150 mph when the eye of the Laura came through. When we got her back to her dock a few days later, she was riding high and did not list, for which we were extremely grateful! While the ship remains closed to visitors, we can still be contacted by email and phone as we work on the many issues involved in moving forward with the Jacksonville Historic Naval Association JHNSA). Additionally, you can still make DONATIONS and PURCHASE MERCHANDISE from our SHIP STORE on our website https://orleck.org to help support the project. You can also support effort at https://www.jaxnavalmuseum.org
Built in 1945 by Consolidated Steel Shipbuilding in Orange, Texas, the USS ORLECK DD886 was launched into the Sabine River on 12 May 1945, and entered duty on 15 September. She served proudly in Korea and Vietnam, earning many prestigious awards and citations for participation in battle and service to her country, including four battle stars earned during the Korean Conflict. She was decommissioned in 1982, transferred to the Turkish government, renamed the TCG YUCETEPE, and served the Turkish Navy in the Persian Gulf in 1991. Turkey donated the ship to the Southeast Texas War Memorial and Heritage Foundation (SETWMHF) in 1999 to serve as a museum ship. She returned to her original berth in Orange by tow 11 August 2000 where she served as a museum ship until Hurricane Rita resulted in the loss of her berth. The USSONM, a non-profit 501 (c) 3 corporation (Federal Tax ID 90-0507764) established in 2009, towed the ship from Orange, Texas, to Lake Charles 19-20 May 2010. SETWMFH transferred the ORLECK to USSONM by act of donation on 22 June 2010, and opened in April 2011 at her temporary berth on the Calcasieu River at 604 North Enterprise Blvd. Local businesses and industries provided much needed in-kind services and material. allowing our volunteers to make significant progress in getting the ship ready for visitors at the time. Suitable dock space in the area did not work out for a number of reasons, to include the significant demand for space by growing industries. The USS ORLECK DD886 is indeed a National treasure. With your help and support we will accomplish our mission of remembering and honoring those who served to secure our freedoms, historical preservation of the USS ORLECK and US Navy legacies, and educating adults and children alike through interpretive, social, and recreational programs. The historic ORLECK will be a tremendous addition to Jacksonville's U.S Naval and maritime traditions as an education, historic, and tourism venue! We respectfully ask those who wish to help preserve this important piece of history to contact us here in Lake Charles and the Jacksonville Historic Naval Ship Association in Jacksonville FL. Working together we can get it done!
