Coast Guard rules ship's iron and steel hull: unsafe.

Galveston — The Houston Chronicle is reporting; the official tall ship of Texas is in trouble. The iron and steel bottom of the three-masted 1877 Elissa is nearly rusted through in places, prompting the U.S. Coast Guard to declare that the vessel is not seaworthy.

Officials at the Texas Seaport Museum in Galveston where the Elissa is berthed were astonished when a Coast Guard inspection earlier this year revealed the rotten hull.

The tall ship is inspected twice every five years, said John Schaumburg, museum assistant director. The latest inspection uncovered the worst rot since the tall ship was rebuilt in 1982, he said.

Very little corrosion was discovered during the previous dry dock in 2008, prompting surprise that the bottom could have deteriorated so quickly, Schaumburg said.

To read more on this story, head to The Houston Chronicle's website: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7649067.html