Want to tour the battleship in Camden? You'll have to wait until the summer

The Battleship New Jersey is preparing to depart for its historic dry dock trip, and it just shaved off the final week of Camden tours before its move.

The decommissioned ship, now a memorial and war museum, was set to remain open for tours to the public until Sunday March 3, but it announced an early closure abruptly over the weekend.

"Battleship New Jersey will be CLOSED through dry docking earlier than anticipated for dry dock reparations," the ship announced to Facebook on Sunday, Feb. 25, apologizing for any inconvenience.

The announcement was accompanied by photos of the north gangway, which connects the ship to the pier, being removed. The south gangway will remain in place up until the ship is ready to move.

The Battleship's CEO Marshall Spevak said that the timeline for the dry dock has been an "ongoing, evolving schedule," and the decision to close a week early was made to keep in mind the safety of visitors and guests as well as the overall preparation schedule for the ship's move in less than one month.

Crews have been working to prep the ship before its departure later this spring.

On Thursday, March 21 the battleship will leave its pier for the first time in over 20 years and make its way down the Delaware for a historic maintenance project at the Philadelphia shipyard it was born in.

Kaitlyn McCormick writes about trending issues and community news across South Jersey for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times. If you have a story she should tell, email her at kmccormick@gannett.com. And subscribe to stay up to date on the news you need.