A former US navy battleship is the subject of opposing schemes to convert the vessel into a tourist attraction.

The Historic Ships Memorial at Pacific Square wants to see the USS Iowa moved to Mare Island in Vallejo, north of San Francisco, while an application by the Pacific Battleship Center - based in Los Angeles - would prefer that it be moored in the port suburb of San Pedro in the south of the city. A spokesperson for the Historic Ships Memorial said that they put in an application for the ship in 1998 when it first came up for possible donation. The navy opened the application process again last year, at which point the Pacific Battleship group entered its bid.

Both organisations say they have funding in place or committed to meet the costs associated with the ships' transfer, conversion and upkeep. A decision by the US Navy is expected later this year.

The ship, long out of use and currently mothballed as part of America's reserve fleet, supported US forces fighting in the Pacific during World War II and saw service in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.