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Departure time set for USS Forrestal

The USS Forrestal is slated to begin its final voyage from Philadelphia to Texas at 5 a.m. Tuesday. Jim Daley, of Foss Marine Towing, said the journey down the Delaware River will take about 18 hours.

The USS Forrestal is slated to begin its final voyage from Philadelphia to Texas at 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Jim Daley, of Foss Marine Towing, said the journey down the Delaware River will take about 18 hours.

He said the tug Lauren Foss, assisted by four McAllister Tugs, would move the Forrestal from its berth at the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility at the former Naval Ship Yard to the river's shipping channel.

The Navy says the best place to view the ship will be from publicly accessible spots along the Delaware.

The Navy has paid one cent under a contract to have the 60-year-old vessel dismantled by All Star Metals in the Gulf port of Brownsville.

The Forrestal, the first of the post-World War II supercarriers, was decommissioned Sept. 11, 1993, after more than 38 years of service. The Navy had offered the carrier for use as a museum or memorial but said none of the applications it received was deemed viable.

Under its contract with the Navy, All Start Metals assumes all costs of towing, insuring, and dismantling the vessel with the aim of recovering its costs and making a profit through the sale of the scrap.

jgambardello@phillynews.com

856-779-3844

@jgambardello