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SC a finalist for aging battleship USS Olympia

A South Carolina group is one of the finalists to bring a 19th Century battleship, USS Olympia, to the state as an historic attraction.

BEAUFORT, S.C. — A South Carolina group is one of the finalists to bring a 19th Century battleship to the state as an historic attraction.

The Beaufort Gazette reports that a group from Beaufort and one from Mare Island, Calif., are finalists to get the ship.

The USS Olympia is currently moored at the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia and is considered the oldest steel warship still afloat. But it has not been in dry dock for 65 years and is in danger of sinking unless it is repaired.

The South Carolina Olympia Committee wants to bring the vessel to Port Royal and make it a tourist attraction. The 344-foot ship would first need about $10 million in repairs.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

WSOC

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