Navy Seeking Base for Battleship : S.D. May Become Home Port for the Missouri

San Diego is under consideration as a new home port for the battleship Missouri, Rep. Duncan L. Hunter (R-Coronado) said Tuesday.

Hunter said he made a formal request for the transfer of the ship in a meeting with Navy Secretary James H. Webb, who said the proposal would be given “serious consideration.”

The Navy has long intended to base the World War II-vintage battleship in San Francisco, but the recent election of Mayor Art Agnos, who campaigned against basing the ship there, has fueled speculation that the Navy would change its plans.

Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) said last week that “very reliable sources” had informed him that the Missouri would be transferred to Hawaii, but Navy officials denied the report.

Navy officials could not be reached for comment late Tuesday, but a spokeswoman said last Friday that the Navy remains committed to transferring the Missouri to San Francisco from its current home in Long Beach.

“We’re still supporting it, but there are realities to consider, one of which is that Mayor Agnos has publicly stated he does not support it,” said Lt. Kippy Wilson. The Navy will not base a ship in a city where it is not wanted, Wilson said.

The Missouri, one of four battleships in the U.S. fleet, was the scene of the signing of the Japanese surrender, which brought an end to World War II. The ship, which has undergone extensive renovation, carries a crew of 66 officers and 1,538 enlisted men.

A spokesman for San Diego Mayor Maureen O’Connor said Tuesday that she would welcome the Missouri, but that the mayor’s office has no formal plan to campaign for the ship.

However, Lee Grissom, president of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce, said Tuesday that the chamber’s military affairs committee has drawn up a proposal recommending that San Diego “aggressively go after the Missouri and its battle group of seven ships.”

Grissom said he strongly favors the proposal, which will be considered by the chamber’s executive committee when it meets Thursday morning.

There has been a “steady erosion” of the number of ships based in San Diego over the past decade, Grissom said. “The Navy is a very significant component of our economy,” he added. “It’s time to go on the offensive.”

Navy and congressional sources said that in addition to moving to San Diego or Hawaii, the Missouri could remain in Long Beach or be moved to the state of Washington.

Sen. Pete Wilson (D-Calif.), who has long pushed for the transfer to San Franciso, said last week he still favors the move, but that the Navy is likely to change its plans if San Francisco fails to cooperate.

‘Tragic Loss’

“I think it would be a tragic loss for the city of San Francisco and for the whole Bay Area if the USS Missouri were to be home-ported somewhere else,” Wilson said. “It’s now in the hands of the new city administration.”

If San Francisco is ruled out, Wilson would work to keep the Missouri in California, a spokesman said.

The transfer of the Missouri to San Francisco was part of an $800-million plan begun in 1982 to spread out the Navy’s fleet in an effort to place ships closer to potential areas of conflict and confound possible Soviet targeting.

The plan was supported by former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein, but opposition to the ship was a key plank in the election platform of San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos, who took office last month. Feinstein was not eligible to run for another term.

Agnos Remains Opposed

Eileen Maloney, a spokeswoman for Agnos, said Tuesday that the new administration has heard nothing from the Navy about the Missouri since Agnos took office. She said Agnos is “solid” in his opposition to the ship, which he believes would destroy San Francisco Bay and the environment.”

Hunter said San Diego would be “an excellent alternative” to San Francisco. “The San Diego community and local government would accept the ship, its crew and their families with open arms,” he said in a press release.

“The Navy has been sending ships out of San Diego for the past several years. It’s about time they considered sending a few back.”