A proposal is moving at the state capitol to redesignate the state’s official flagship.
The House Government Operations Subcommittee backed a measure (HB 249) that would transfer the flagship designation from the Schooner Western Union, a 130-foot wooden ship used as a cable vessel by the Western Union Telegraph Company, to the S.S. American Victory. The S.S. American Victory is a merchant-marine transport vessel that has been a museum at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa for more than 20 years.
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The Senate Military and Veterans Affairs, Space and Domestic Security Committee backed an identical measure (SB 1656) a week ago.
Sen. Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, described the Western Union as “a derelict schooner,” while saying the American Victory holds “an important part of the Tampa waterfront.”
“Considering the present condition of the schooner Western Union, I think it's time to honor her as our former state flagship,” said Burgess, who is sponsoring the Senate bill.
House bill sponsor Rep. Karen Gonzalez Pittman, a Tampa Republican, described the Western Union as being “in terrible disrepair.”
A similar effort floundered last year as Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, a Republican whose district includes Key West, argued constituents in her district weren’t “ready to give up the flagship title at this time.”
The Schooner Western Union, dry-docked in Key West, was named the state flagship in 2012 after undergoing a million-dollar restoration. But the tall ship now sits in disrepair.
Of 531 Victory ships made around the close of World War II, the S.S. American Victory is one of three remaining.