Most of historic Hoga tugboat in North Little Rock still off limits for tours

Danny and Karen Ridgon of Odessa, Mo., rest in the shade Saturday with the USS Hoga in the background in North Little Rock. The historic tugboat survived the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, and its crew helped fight fires on the battleship Arizona and rescued sailors.
Danny and Karen Ridgon of Odessa, Mo., rest in the shade Saturday with the USS Hoga in the background in North Little Rock. The historic tugboat survived the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, and its crew helped fight fires on the battleship Arizona and rescued sailors.

Most of the historic USS Hoga tugboat remains off limits to public tours while the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum in North Little Rock awaits final inspections to gain clearance from the federal government to make necessary safety improvements.

Museum officials had expected much of the tug to be open for tours this summer, and an inspection plan has recently been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, museum Director Greg Zonner said last week. Actual inspections still have to be scheduled, however, and then any identified work must be completed before the boat is fully open.

The Hoga survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and its crew fought fires on the battleship Arizona and rescued many survivors in the attack's aftermath. The Hoga is designated as a National Historic Landmark. It joined the museum on the Arkansas River next to the Main Street Bridge in November 2015.

"We didn't know it would take the EPA 18 months to approve our plan," said Zonner, who speculated in December that everything but the engine room could be open by this summer. "I'll say it again, by [next] summer."

The tug's topside has been available for tours, but the crew's mess, officer's staterooms, engine room and the pilothouse are still off limits. The inspection will identify any asbestos, lead paint and other banned materials that need to be removed before renovations to the tug can be made.

Whenever the area below deck of the Hoga is opened, it should be cool inside with a new air conditioner expected.

Legislation is on today's North Little Rock City Council agenda to waive formal bidding for the museum to purchase a replacement air conditioner for $55,000, which will be paid fully from previous grant money the museum has available, according to the ordinance.

The museum, which was placed under the city Parks and Recreation Department this year, will be able to buy the air conditioner at below cost, Zonner said, from Dometic Group, a Swedish manufacturer that, among other services, provides air conditioning equipment for yachts. But for now, buying it is all that can be done.

"We can get the equipment, but we can't put it in until the EPA is done," Zonner said. "We're also required to make sure it can't be seen by the public."

Zonner said the equipment is worth about $125,000, but the company is "basically giving it to us for less than cost once they do all the engineering and figure the loads."

Parks Director Terry Hartwick submitted the legislation now to save on costs, he said last week.

"We can't put it in, but we'll have it," Hartwick said. "If we don't do it now with the price we're getting, the price of it will almost double. We decided to get it now and go through the process. The federal government just moves a lot slower than we do."

North Little Rock acquired ownership of the Hoga from the U.S. Navy in 2005, but wasn't able to place the tug alongside the USS Razorback submarine at the maritime museum until 10 years later. With the Hoga's addition, the museum has been the site of the state's official Pearl Harbor anniversary commemorations for the past two years.

The Razorback submarine, the museum's featured attraction since 2004, was in Tokyo Bay for Japan's official surrender at the end of World War II on Sept. 2, 1945. The Hoga's addition enabled the museum to showcase boats present at the beginning and the end of the U.S. involvement in the war, a unique tourist attraction.

Visitors to the museum traveled from all 50 states in each of the past two years and from 83 countries in 2015, according to museum figures. Last month, the museum had 1,141 paid visitors, plus another 162 from group tours, overnight stays or special events.

The museum's hours and tour information are available online at aimmuseum.org.

While the submarine is the more attention-getting draw, the North Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau advertises both vessels in addition to what the museum itself offers, said Bob Major, the bureau's executive director.

"We continue to promote the museum and the fact that the Hoga is there," Major said. "It's still one of those things when people find out about it, it's 'Hey, let's go see that,' and they can't believe there's a submarine here. A tugboat doesn't sound too glamorous until people find out some of the history on it."

Metro on 10/09/2017

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