 New Jersey remained in mothball fleet until the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act of 1999 passed through the United States Congress 18 October 1998 . Section 1011 required the United States Secretary of the Navy to list and maintain Iowa and Wisconsin on the Naval Vessel Register , while Section 1012 required the Secretary of the Navy to strike New Jersey from the Naval Vessel Register and transfer the battleship to a not @-@ for @-@ profit entity in accordance with section <unk> of Title 10 , United States Code . Section 1012 also required the <unk> to locate the battleship in the State of New Jersey . The Navy made the switch in January 1999 , and on 12 September , New Jersey was towed by the tug Sea Victory from Bremerton , Washington to Philadelphia , for restoration work in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in advance of her planned donation for use as a museum . 
