Bishop Museum - Falls of Clyde

From 1968 until September 2008, the Bishop Museum owned the Falls of Clyde, the oldest sail-driven oil tanker which was moored at the Hawai‘i Maritime Center. In early 2007, the ship was closed to public tours for safety reasons and in order to facilitate repairs to the deteriorating tank, which frequently caused the ship to list dramatically. The decision was also made to conduct a more thorough inspection by marine experts. Between 1998 and 2008 the Museum incurred more than $2 million in preservation costs.The museum had plans to sink the ship by the end of 2008 unless private funds were raised for a perpetual care endowment. On September 28, 2008, ownership was transferred to the non-profit group, Friends of Falls of Clyde, which intends to restore the ship. In October 2008, the Bishop Museum was accused of "incompetence and dishonesty" for having raised $600,000 to preserve the ship but then spending only about half on the ship. The accusation also focused on other decisions about how the money was used.