Fall River's Battleship Cove had to scrap one of its Navy ships. Here's why they did it.

FALL RIVER — Battleship Cove may boast the world’s largest collection of U.S. naval vessels, but that collection has gotten a little smaller in recent weeks.

Visitors to the fleet museum — or people who have walked by along Fall River's waterfront — may have noticed there's one less ship anchored alongside the Battleship Massachusetts: the German corvette Hiddensee. Last month, the nonprofit’s board members decided to remove the Hiddensee from the cove.

Photos later surfaced on Reddit of a ship resembling the Hiddensee in the process of being scrapped at a shipyard in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Battleship Cove’s Chief Operating Officer Chris Nardi confirmed that this was the case, and that the decision to scrap the Hiddensee was difficult but necessary to maintain the rest of the exhibits.

“These ships are very, very, very expensive — I can’t even say ‘very’ enough times — to maintain," Nardi said. “Disposing of Hiddensee put us in a good position to take care of the ships that have been here for decades at this point.”

SouthCoast Wonders: The Battleship joined the Navy over 80 years ago. How did it end up in Fall River?

Why Battleship Cove scrapped one of its ships

The small warship was built in 1984 in Leningrad, in the former Soviet Union, for the East German Navy. After the unification of Germany, she was part of the German Navy until she was transferred to the U.S. Navy in 1991. The Hiddensee was used for training exercises until she was decommissioned in 1996. Battleship Cove acquired the ship and placed her in its exhibit in 1997.

Ships like the Hiddensee were meant for battle — and never meant to survive this long. And in recent years, the ship has deteriorated. But Nardi said considering the ship’s hull has been immersed in saltwater for two and a half decades, it’s “pretty amazing” the museum kept it as long as it did.

“The Hiddensee, as designed by the Russian shipyard ... they were designed to be definitely disposable in terms of the way they were constructed,” Nardi said.

He said repairing the Hiddensee might have required the ship to be put in drydock, which would have been “terribly expensive,” he said. The question of scrapping Hiddensee was considered for a while, he said. “You have to weigh that versus repairs in place, which are quite problematic. The best decision was to dispose of her."

Nardi said the group is focusing its limited funding on its remaining craft: the USS Lionfish submarine, the Destroyer Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. and the Battleship Massachusetts, along with two PT boats and several helicopters.

The Lionfish and Kennedy are currently undergoing maintenance and preservation work. Most of this work is performed by unpaid volunteers.

The history of Charles Braga: You know the bridge. But how much do you know about the sailor who died at Pearl Harbor?

Changes are happening at Battleship Cove, and how to help

It’s not the only recent change at Battleship Cove. Nardi confirmed that Executive Director Meghan Rathbun, who took the helm in 2021, stepped down from the position two weeks ago.

“She had an opportunity that she thought might be suited better to where she wants to go. It’s as simple as that,” Nardi said. She’s still very much interested in this organization. Her family volunteers here. We still have a good relationship with her in terms of her future involvement, if you will.”

He said the search for a new executive director would begin in the spring.

In the meantime, the conservation and education work at Battleship Cove goes on.

“There’s a lot of positive work going on down here. The state generously funded the complete repainting of the Battleship’s freeboard,” Nardi said, adding that state grants are also helping with work on the Lionfish. “We have a new hangar down on the pier that’s protecting our two helicopters. I don’t want that to get lost in the shuffle here.”

A fall fundraiser is currently ongoing to help pay for repairs and preservation work on the Destroyer Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. So far, just under $3,500 has been raised, short of its $10,000 goal.

"We’re here to serve our mission, which is to recognize veterans and their acts of sacrifices and to stay alive here,” Nardi said.

Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Battleship Cove scraps Hiddensee ship; executive director steps down