Coast Guard decommissioned her in 1994, Tamaroa was donated to the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City. She was noticed tied up next to the museum ship in 1994 by a former crewman who began a campaign to restore her. After several unsuccessful attempts, the Zuni Maritime Foundation, a non-profit organization in Richmond, Virginia, formed. The foundation attempted to preserve the ship in an operational condition, and use her to educate the public. This ultimately proved unsuccessful. Prior to scuttling, parts of the Tamaroa were removed by the Black Dog Salvage company for two episodes of the TV show "Salvage Dawgs". Her main mast was repurposed as a flagpole for the Ballast Point microbrewery in Roanoke, VA. Having been tied up in Norfolk, Virginia, and environmentally cleaned, she was selected in 2016 for use as an artificial reef. Her sinking, originally scheduled for 30 October 2016, was delayed by rough seas and related issues. She finally was scuttled at 13:00 on 10 May 2017 in the Atlantic Ocean about 33 nautical miles (61 km) from Cape May, New Jersey, at a depth of 120 feet, forming an artificial reef. Her wreck is now a recreational dive site, part of the Del-Jersey-Land Inshore Reef. Awards Coast Guard Unit Commendation with three stars Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation with four stars Coast Guard "E" Ribbon with three stars Coast Guard Bicentennial Unit Commendation American Campaign Medal Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four battle stars World War II Victory Medal National Defense Service Medal with two stars Humanitarian Service Medal with three stars Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon Philippine Liberation Medal References External links The Zuni Maritime Foundation Dead link USCGC Tamaroa navsource.org: USCGC Tamaroa Ships sunk as artificial reefs Cherokee-class fleet tugs of the United States Coast Guard World War II auxiliary ships of the United States 1943 ships Maritime incidents in 2017 Scuttled vessels Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Shipwrecks of the New Jersey coast