LA PORTE— The Battleship TEXAS Foundation (BTF) is now accepting proposals for the selection of a home port for the Battleship TEXAS after it returns from major repairs. The request for proposal (RFP) opened Jan. 21.

After the proposals have been submitted, the BTF will conduct a fair and extensive evaluation and select the location best suited to the future needs of the Battleship TEXAS. Anyone wishing to submit a proposal must contact the BTF through info@battleship.org to request the RFP package.

Currently, the BTF and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) are preparing the ship for transportation to a shipyard. There, repairs will include replacement of the hull from the waterline down and new paint, along with other necessary improvements.

The ship is tentatively scheduled to depart her current berth between April-August 2020 and be in the shipyard for a period of about twelve-months. Once the battleship leaves the shipyard, the ship should be arriving in its new berth around August 2021. Following a period to prepare the ship for reopening, the plan is to have it receiving visitors by early 2022.

The BTF is a nonprofit foundation that was founded in 1999. Its mission is to preserve and enhance the Battleship TEXAS and develop this historic ship into a premier museum and visitor attraction. In 2019 the BTF and TPWD entered a 99-year memorandum of understanding/lease with TPWD whereby the BTF would operate and maintain the Battleship TEXAS for TPWD and the State of Texas.