With major repairs completed, the USS Kidd naval destroyer, which served in World War II and the Korean War, is ready to return to its home berth in Baton Rouge — when the Mississippi River says so.
Historically low water levels are delaying the ship’s trip back from the Houma shipyard, where its damaged hull was replaced with new steel in a restoration project that took more than a year.
The work began in April 2024, when the ship was towed to the Thomas-Sea Marine Constructors shipyard in the Port of Terrebonne and placed in dry dock for the massive repair job. The ship was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986 and normally rests in a special cradle next to the veterans museum on River Road.
With the work completed by November 2025, the USS Kid was lowered back into the water on Veteran’s Day last year, ready for its trip home during the next high-water cycle, which was expected in the spring of 2026.
Its return from the Port of Terrebonne to Baton Rouge was anticipated for this month, on May 23.
But the Mississippi River isn’t high enough yet, and the ship remains temporarily anchored in the Houma Navigation Canal until it can make the 30-hour trip back home.
“It’s totally safe there,” said Les Nicholson, chairman of the Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission. “It’s just beautiful.”
The $15 million cost of the repair project was appropriated by the state legislature — the ship belongs to the state. The final price of restoration was determined after it was put in dry dock, when experts saw the ship’s hull was more damaged than originally thought, Nicholson said.
“While we’re disappointed by the delay, we are incredibly excited about her return and the role she will continue to play as a centerpiece of Baton Rouge’s riverfront,” Nicholson said.
The river level has to be at least 32 feet, at the official measuring point, for the Kidd to be safely returned to its cradle in Baton Rouge, Nicholson said.
On Monday, the river level in Baton Rouge was at 24.5 feet, according to the Corps.
“Remember, the ship’s cradle is at the edge of the river, even when the river is high,” Nicholson said. “It must be guided carefully by one or more tugboats into its cradle. It’s a delicate operation in very tight quarters, even then.”
The ship has weathered the vagaries of the Mississippi before.
Two years ago, when the USS Kidd was taken out of its cradle on the Baton Rouge riverfront for its trip downriver to Houma, “the river was dropping very, very fast,” Nicholson said. “We were nervous.”
Divers checked on the conditions underwater to make sure there was clearance to get the ship out and on its way, he said.
“They had to cut off four feet of the rudder with acetylene torches,” Nicolson said.
In an unexpected turn of events, the project restored the ship to its World War II configuration, he said. The rudder had been reconfigured for the Korean War.
