Programs and tours to the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii are suspended once again due to safety concerns.
National Park Service rangers and the USS Arizona Boat Detachment became concerned with the stability of the dock ramp after two tours Dec. 19.
“Operations will resume when National Park Service and U.S. Navy personnel deem conditions safe enough for the white boats to use the shoreside dock,” the NPS said.
The decision to suspend tours was made out of an abundance of caution, the NPS said, after tests were conducted following repairs of the shoreside dock ramp to fix a broken coupling that was severed due to tidal movement.
Boat rides to the sunken battleship were paused 17 days after NPS staff discovered an issue with the dock Dec. 12. Work to repair the dock began Dec. 15 when U.S. Navy personnel removed the damaged dock ramp with a crane and repaired it at an off-site facility, according to an NPS statement.
Once the work was completed, the dock ramp was re-installed and stress tests were performed including the docking and departing of the white boats. However, it appears that serious safety concerns remain.
The memorial is normally open Sunday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Interpretive programs, including a documentary film about the attack on Dec. 7, 1941, and the boat trip to the USS Arizona Memorial, begin at 8 a.m. (7:45 a.m. in the summer). The last program each day begins at 3 p.m. The site is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.
The Pearl Harbor Visitor Center grounds, museums, and park film (on the open-air lanai) are still accessible. Visitors can still participate in the Pacific Historic Parks audio tour and visit the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum, Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, and the Battleship Missouri Memorial.
