Funds have been raised for an engineering study on where to moor the decommissioned USS Ticonderoga if supporters can bring the ship to Pascagoula.

The guided missile cruiser was built at Ingalls Shipyard and commissioned in 1983. It would be the centerpiece of a proposed Mississippi Maritime and Warship Museum on the east bank of the city in the heart of a proposed waterfront development.

Ticondergoa Project members say waters near the old Heinz Pet Products property would be an ideal location for the ship, because it would take visitors of the ship or the museum to go through downtown.

The engineering study should be completed by the end of the year.

The ship is moored at the Naval Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia.