TWENTY sites have been identified which could become a museum to home the Newport Ship.

The Argus understands that sites that could be under consideration include some along the Usk riverfront in Newport – not far from where the ship was originally found.

Work has been ongoing for almost a decade to conserve the ship, readying it for it to be rebuilt and a study has been underway to find a location to place the ship.

Councillor Debbie Wilcox, cabinet member for leisure and culture, told a meeting of full council that she had got a draft copy of the study from consultants Colliers.

"The ship is a national project of international significance," she said.

She said the report includes appraisals for 20 sites that have been scored against a number of criteria, and also sets out strategies for funding.

The report is now being considered by officers who will pass it back to consultants Colliers to enable the final report to be published.

The report is yet to be seen in public, however the Argus understands that sites that could be under consideration include where the locomotive stands on the Usk river front, a site near the University's City Campus and the Castle Bingo site.

Nobody from Castle Bingo was able to comment on the news.

The Newport Ship caused great excitement in Newport after it was found at the site of an excavation for the Riverfront Theatre's orchestra pit in 2002.

Any new site would likely need a space with a monitorable atmosphere to help preserve the ship.

A campaign was launched to see the ship raised and conserved, and thousands thronged to see the ship at the Usk riverfront.

Following a pioneering internet campaign that log-jammed Assembly and council e-mail servers, the council secured a National Assembly grant of £3.5 million to lift and conserve it.

Conservation work has been ongoing since then, with a team at Maesglas Industrial Estate working away to dry out timbers readying them to be eventually rebuilt.

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Delight at ship plans

IT IS WITH great delight that we are able to report today that at least 20 sites are now being looked at as potential final homes for the Newport Ship.

The news should go some way to appeasing those who have feared the ship might never find a permanent home in the city.

It was a decade ago when parts of the ship were first discovered as work started to build the Riverfront Theatre on the banks of the Usk.

Then, a campaign was started, backed by this paper, to save the ship and persuade the council to recover as much of the ship as possible after fears it would simply be buried in concrete from the theatre development.

For years, a painstaking preservation project has been under way in a huge warehouse to bring the ship back to life.

Each timber is being carefully treated and restored and the vessel will finally be able to be seen in all its glory.

Now the council has announced it is actively looking for a site to build a museum to house the ship it should allay the fears of many that it could simply be forgotten.

When it is complete, we believe it will be a huge tourist attraction and people will come from all over to view it.

That the council is making strides to get a permanent home for the ship is welcome news and will be a huge boost to all those who have come to love this incredible ship since its first pieces were found all those years ago.