NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. >> A tugboat that survived Pearl Harbor has finally arrived at the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum more than a decade after the U.S. Navy donated the vessel to North Little Rock.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the Hoga arrived at the museum on Monday. The Hoga earned National Historic Landmark status for its crew’s work fighting fires and rescuing survivors during the Dec. 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor attack.

Former North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Hays began working on getting the tugboat to the city in 2000. The vessel will open to the public during a Pearl Harbor commemoration ceremony at the museum on Dec. 7.

Some museum officials had feared that the Hoga, awarded to the city in 2005, would not arrive in time for the ceremony due to delays. The Hoga was diverted to Houston for about a week after an allegation of a maritime violation earlier this month. There were also inconsistencies with being able to track the boat’s location on the Mississippi River.

Museum board member Steve Owen said that “During the entire trip, whenever we would get a date for a transport, it would end up being two or three days beyond what we were told.”

Zonner said that the museum has been working with the Environmental Protection Agency for a grant that would cover the costs to remove asbestos and other environmentally hazardous materials present inside the boat.

Now that the tugboat has arrived, restoration work on its interiors needs to be done before the entire boat can be available for tours, according to museum Executive Director Greg Zonner.

The arrival of the Hoga now gives the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum the distinction of having vessels that served on both the first and last day of the United States’ involvement in World War II. The other vessel is the USS Razorback, a submarine that was at Tokyo Bay for the official Japanese surrender on Sept. 2, 1945.