01 May Richmond Considers Moving SS Red Oak Victory

The SS Red Oak Victory is seen in 2024, 60 years after it was built at the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond for World War II. (“SS Red Oak Victory” by Larry Myhre on Flickr / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license)

By Samantha Kennedy

On the same day that federal officials tapped the Port of Richmond for $11.2 million in upgrades, City Council members made a money move of their own to revitalize the economy in the area.

Council members on Tuesday approved a $299,797 contract that will go toward a study figuring out how to move the historic SS Red Oak Victory, a WWII-era ship that is the last remaining of those built at the Kaiser Shipyards. The proposed move would bring the ship closer to the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park to boost economic development.

Port Director Charles Gerard said that the ship’s current annual revenue of $153,000 is estimated to jump to a maximum of $1.2 million with the move to Ford Point. Most of the revenue is expected to come from visitors and funding from outside sources.

“The Ford Point location gives us much better public accessibility, much better public visibility as far as the Rosie the Riveter Park, the ferry passengers, the Craneway Pavilion, and so on,” said Fred Clink, who said he was representing 60 crewmembers who signed a petition in favor of the study.

The contract with Liftech Consultants is just the first step in the process of moving the ship. The move itself could cost between $16 million and $20 million, according to Gerard.

“It’s a major undertaking,” Gerard told council members. “We are not stating the port would fund that move; we’re not stating that the city would fund that move.”

But Gerard said that the study is needed first to give officials a more concrete dollar amount and roadmap of the move.

That cost is more than what it would have cost the city to fix up the Craneway Pavilion: more than $12 million over 10 years. Council members rejected a deal to take over its lease in a split vote last week because of the cost.

Council member Claudia Jimenez, who voted in favor of both taking back the Craneway and the study, referred to the Craneway’s cost during the discussion at the meeting.

The study, which Gerard said is already budgeted for, got the approval of nearly all council members — except Sue Wilson, who voted against it after raising concerns over how the move would be funded.

“People love this ship, but nobody’s coming forward to pay for it, and I don’t think it’s the Port of Richmond that should close that gap on paying. I know it’s not a popular decision in this room, but I’m not comfortable putting forth the $300,000 for the study tonight,” Wilson said ahead of the vote.

The vote came on the same day that federal officials, including Rep. John Garamendi, announced more than $11.2 million in funding to rehabilitate the port’s infrastructure.

In a statement, Garamendi, who represents Richmond, said the funding “reinforces the port’s vital role in our economy and in our community.”

Mayor Eduardo Martinez said after the meeting that the funding creates “real opportunities for our residents.”

The funding is part of a larger $22 million package of grants through the Maritime Administration meant to revitalize ports in Richmond and Ventura County.

Gerard said the actual relocation of the ship could take five years after the study is complete.