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{{short description|Ship preserved and converted into a museum open to the public}}
{{for|ships that are not original|Ship replica}}
[[File:CruiserAurora061609.jpg|thumb|The Russian [[Russian cruiser Aurora|''Aurora'']], one of the few [[protected cruiser]]s to be preserved, is one of the world's most visited vessels]]
A '''museum ship''', also called a '''memorial ship''', is a [[ship]] that has been preserved and converted into a [[museum]] open to the public for educational or [[memorial]] purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small number of museum ships that are still operational and thus capable of regular movement.<ref>[http://www.hnsa.org/activities.htm Activities of the Historic Naval Ships Association] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808174110/http://hnsa.org/activities.htm|date=2007-08-08}} (the international [[Historic Naval Ships Association]] website. Accessed 2008-06-06.)</ref>

Several hundred museum ships are kept around the world, with around 175 of them organised in the Historic Naval Ships Association<ref name="FLEET">[http://www.hnsa.org/intro.htm About The Historic Naval Ships Association] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514002621/http://hnsa.org/intro.htm|date=2008-05-14}} (the international [[Historic Naval Ships Association]] website. Accessed 2008-06-06.)</ref> though many are not naval museum ships, from general merchant ships to [[tugboat|tug]]s and [[Lightvessel|lightships]]. Many, if not most, museum ships are also associated with a [[maritime museum]].

==Significance==
[[Image:USS Missouri veterans.JPG|thumb|right|Former crew members of {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}} pose for photos after the Anniversary of the End of World War II ceremony in 2003.]]
Relatively few ships are preserved beyond their useful life, due to the high cost of maintaining them against the ravages of the elements. Most are broken up and sold for scrap, while a relative handful are sunk as naval target practice, scuttled to create [[artificial reef]]s, and so on. Some survive because of historical significance, but more often due to luck and circumstance. Since an old ship tied up at dockside, without attention, still decays and eventually sinks, the practice of recent years has been to form some sort of preservation society, solicit donations from governments or private individuals, organize volunteer labor from the enthusiasts, and open the restored ship to visitors, usually for a fee.

When the USN turns over one of their ships to a museum, a contract must be signed, stating that the Navy bears no responsibility for the costs of restoration, preservation and maintenance. Also, major pieces of equipment such as engines and generators must be [[Hulk (ship type)|permanently disabled]]. If the ship requires services such as electricity and water, they must come through shore connections.<ref>[https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Team-Ships/NAVSEA-21/Inactive-Ships/Ship-Donation/ Surface Ships from Cradle to Grave]</ref>

The [[conservation-restoration|restoration]] and [[Maintenance, repair and operations|maintenance]] of museum ships presents problems for historians who are asked for advice, and the results periodically generate some controversy{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}}. For instance, the rigging of sailing ships has almost never survived, and so the rigging plan must be reconstructed from various sources. Studying the ships also allows historians to analyze how life on and operation of the ships took place.<ref name="HIST">[http://www.dsm.de/Pubs/22_04.htm ''Museum ships built in 1999: Remarks on the reconstruction of historical inland and sea-going vessels'' (abstract)] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20031111101110/http://www.dsm.de/Pubs/22_04.htm |date=2003-11-11 }} - Ingo Heidbrink, Ingo; Deutsches Schiffahrtsarchiv (DSA) 22, 1999, Page 43–58</ref> Numerous scientific papers have been written on ship restoration and maintenance, and international conferences are held discussing the latest developments.<ref>[http://www.maritime.org/conf-sched.htm Conference Proceedings] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702111555/http://www.maritime.org/conf-sched.htm |date=2007-07-02 }} (from the 'Third International Conference on the Technical Aspects of the Preservation of Historic Vessels' (1997) webpage on the [[San Francisco Maritime Park Association]] website)</ref> Some years ago, the [[Barcelona Charter]] was signed by a variety of international owner organizations of traditional vessels, and provides certain accepted minimum criteria for the restoration and operation of traditional watercraft still in operation.<ref>''The "Barcelona Charter", European Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Traditional Ships in Operation'' - Ingo Heidbrink (editor), Bremen (Hauschildt Verlag, 2003</ref>

Another consideration is the distinction between a "real" museum ship, and a [[ship replica]]. As repairs accumulate over time, [[Ship_of_Theseus|less and less]] of the ship is of the original materials, and the lack of old parts (or even "appropriate" work tools) may lead to the use of modern "short-cuts" (such as [[welding]] a metal plate instead of [[rivet]]ing it, as would be the case during the ships' historical period).<ref>''[http://www.maritime.org/conf/conf-kearon.htm Conserving Unique and Historic Ships]'' - Kearon, John; Head of Shipkeeping, Industrial and Land Transport Conservation, [[Merseyside Maritime Museum]], paper from the Third International Conference on the Technical Aspects of the Preservation of Historic Vessels (1997) webpage on the [[San Francisco Maritime Park Association]] website</ref> Visitors without historical background are also often unable to distinguish between a historical museum ship and a (more-or-less historically relevant) ship replica, which may serve solely as a tourist attraction.<ref name="HIST"/>

==Museum usage==
[[File:Vasa Museum interior1.jpg|thumb|The 17th-century warship {{ship||Vasa|ship|2}} on display in the [[Vasa Museum]]]]
Typically the visitor enters via [[Gangway (nautical)|gangplank]], wanders around on the deck, then goes below, usually using the original stairways, giving a sense of how the crew got around. The interior features restored but inactivated equipment, enhanced with mementos including old photographs, explanatory displays, pages from the ship's logs, menus, and the like. Some add recorded sound effects, audio tours or video displays to enhance the experience. 

In some cases, the ships radio room has been brought back into use, with volunteers operating [[amateur radio]] equipment.  Often, the [[callsign]] assigned is a variation on the original identification of the ship.  For example, the [[submarine]] {{USS|Cobia|SS-245|6}}, which had the callsign NBQV, is now on the air as NB9QV.  The World War II submarine {{USS|Pampanito|SS-383|6}}, berthed at the [[San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park]], had the active service callsign NJVT and is now on the air as NJ6VT. In other cases, such as {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}}, a distinctive call (in this case KH6BB) is used.  This radio work not only helps restore part of the vessel, but also provides worldwide publicity for the museum ship.

A number of the larger museum ships have begun to offer hosting for weddings, meetings, other events, and sleepovers, and on a few ships still seaworthy, cruises. In the United States, this includes {{USS|Constitution}}{{-'}}s annual "turnaround", when the old ship is towed out into the harbor and brought back in facing the other way, so as to weather evenly. A place on the deck is by invitation or lottery only, and highly prized.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.themuseumresourcenetwork.org/ |title=The Museum Resource |access-date=10 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103054505/http://themuseumresourcenetwork.org/ |archive-date=3 January 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Many{{who?|date=February 2021}} consider the [[tourism]] appeal of an interesting old vessel on the city waterfront strong enough that any port city should showcase one or more museum ships. This may even include building a [[Ship replica|replica ship]] at great expense.<ref>[http://www.eb-5investors.com/POHF%20Summary.htm A Proposal to Recreate the Royal Yacht Ha'Aheo o Hawai'i (Pride of Hawaii)] ([[International Historic Watercraft Society]], via a website of the [[United States Citizenship and Immigration Services|USCIS]] Regional Center Immigrant Investor Program. Accessed 2008-03-26.)</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:HMSVictoryPortsmouthEngland (version 2).jpg|{{HMS|Victory}}: the only [[ship of the line]] that is preserved.
File:Fregatten Jylland total.jpg|[[Danish frigate Jylland|''Jylland'']]: the only wooden [[screw frigate]] that is preserved.
File:Averof Today2.jpg|{{ship|Greek cruiser|Georgios Averof||2}}: the only [[armored cruiser]] that is preserved
File:USS Salem (CA-139) museum ship - Quincy, Massachusetts - USA - 30 March 2012.jpg|{{ship|USS|Salem|CA-139|6}}: the only [[heavy cruiser]] that is preserved.
File:MIKASA02.jpg|{{ship|Japanese battleship|Mikasa||2}}: the only [[pre-dreadnought battleship]] that is preserved.
File:USS Texas01a.jpg|{{USS|Texas|BB-35|6}}: the only [[dreadnought battleship]] that is preserved.
File:Blyskawica l d.jpg|The [[Polish Navy|Polish]] destroyer {{ORP|Błyskawica}}: the oldest preserved destroyer in the world, preserved as a museum ship in [[Gdynia]].
File:U995 2004 1.jpg|German submarine {{GS|U-995||2}} of [[World War II]] used as a museum.
File:USS Yorktown (CVS-10) panorama 2012.jpg|{{USS|Yorktown|CV-10|6}}: the first [[aircraft carrier]] converted into a museum.
File:Constellation bow.JPG|{{USS|Constellation|1854|6}}: sloop-of-war, the last sail-only warship designed and built by the [[United States Navy]], preserved as a museum ship in [[Baltimore]].
File:USS Olympia (6219191508).jpg|{{USS|Olympia|C-6|6}}: one of two [[protected cruisers]] currently preserved.
File:1914 British Light Cruiser ‘HMS Caroline’ – Belfast (45830550741).jpg|[[HMS Caroline (1914)|HMS ''Caroline'']]: WW1 light cruiser.
File:HMS Belfast with rainbow.jpg|{{HMS|Belfast}}: WW2 light cruiser.
File:Huascar1.jpg|{{ship||Huáscar|ironclad|2}}: one of the earliest [[ironclad warship]]s to be preserved afloat.
File:Royal Yacht Britannia.JPG|{{ship|HMY|Britannia||6}}: former [[royal yacht]] of the British monarchy, now preserved in [[Edinburgh]].
File:USS SARSFIELD Dec2016.jpg|{{USS|Sarsfield}}: served in the Republic of China Navy as ROCS ''Te Yang'' (DDG-925), now preserved in [[Anping District|Anping]].
File:Northeast View of the Cutty Sark in Greenwich.jpg|''[[Cutty Sark]]'': 1869 [[clipper]] preserved at [[Greenwich]], London
File:Brunel's SS Great Britain - geograph.org.uk - 2473459.jpg|[[Isambard Kingdom Brunel|Brunel]]'s 1843 steamship {{ship|SS|Great Britain}}, preserved at [[Bristol]]
File:USS Pueblo (4634638484).jpg|[[USS Pueblo (AGER-2)|USS ''Pueblo'']]: captured by North Korea in 1968, preserved as a museum ship in [[Pyongyang]].
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[List of museum ships]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
*Aymar, B. (1967). A pictorial treasury of the marine museums of the world; A guide to the maritime collections, restorations, replicas, and marine museums in twenty-three countries. New York: Crown.
*Evans, M. H., & West, J. (1998). Maritime museums: A guide to the collections and museum ships in Britain and Ireland. London: Chatham Pub.
*Stammers, M. (1978). Discovering maritime museums and historic ships. Discovering series, no. 228. Aylesbury [England]: Shire Publications
*Sullivan, D. (1978). Old ships, boats & maritime museums. London: Coracle Books.
*Heidbrink, I. (1994). Schrott oder Kulturgut. Zur Bewertung historischer Wasserfahrzeuge aus der Perspektive des Historikers. Bestandserfassung - Bewertung - quellengerechte Erhaltung. Lage / Lippe: Fritz Heidbrink.

==External links==
*{{Commonscatinline|Museum ships}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130622175037/http://hnsa.org/index.htm Historic Naval Ship Visitors' Guide] (from the international [[Historic Naval Ships Association]] website)

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[[Category:Museum ships| ]]
[[Category:Ship types]]
[[Category:Types of museums|Ship]]