A small but noticeable list in the battleship USS Missouri has been partially corrected. Soon, the nonprofit museum may have a much bigger challenge in keeping the memorial afloat.

The 64-year-old battleship's 1.5-degree tilt was noted last summer, when heavy doors that normally swung shut by gravity didn't.

The problem was traced to a 33,300-gallon fuel-oil ballast tank — one of more than 690 tanks capable of holding a total of 2.5 million gallons.

All of the Missouri's tanks were emptied of fluids before the ship was donated to the USS Missouri Memorial Association in 1998, officials said.

But seawater leaked in through a deteriorated rivet seam at a rate of 3 gallons a minute, filling the tank in a week.

Missouri staff confirmed that the leakage was isolated to a single tank on the starboard, or right, side of the hull. The water level has since been reduced to the area of the seam leak, officials said.

"These maintenance repairs were addressed quickly through the combined efforts of the memorial's staff and commercial partners," said Don Hess, president and chief operating officer of the Battleship Missouri and a retired Navy captain.

The list has been corrected to less than 0.75 of a degree. Next month, commercial divers will seal the leaking seam and the remaining water will be pumped out, leveling the ship.

Throughout the process, the ship was otherwise secure and remained open to visitors, officials said.

The Missouri also is completing a comprehensive ship assessment that will identify the long-term maintenance needs of the superstructure, teak deck and underwater hull.

The museum needs to do rust control and painting on the superstructure above the main deck, replace nearly 53,000 square feet of teak deck planking, and restore the underwater portion of the hull, which could require drydocking.

Officials previously estimated that drydocking and lower-hull repainting could run $5 million to $8 million, superstructure rust control and painting may cost $1 million, and the decking could be $5 million to $15 million.

A national fundraising campaign will be mounted to pay for the restoration to the ship on whose deck Japan surrendered on Sept. 2, 1945, ending World War II.

On June 21, the memorial will mark the 10th anniversary of the decommissioned battleship's arrival in Hawai'i.

Last year, 2,590 volunteers donated nearly 20,000 hours of their time toward the restoration of the Missouri.

IN BRIEF

INTERIM LEADER FOR 25TH INFANTRY

A deputy commanding general at Schofield Barracks will take over as interim commander of the 25th Infantry Division until a permanent replacement is named, officials said.

Brig. Gen. John M. Bednarek will assume command of the Tropic Lightning division. Bednarek most recently was assistant division commander for operations at Schofield.

In October, Bednarek returned from Iraq, where he oversaw operations Arrowhead Ripper and Lightning Hammer in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad. Both operations involved about 10,000 soldiers, artillery and airstrikes in an area where al-Qaida had found a foothold.

It's not clear how long Bednarek will serve as interim commander. He was named in December to command the U.S. Army Training Center and Fort Jackson in South Carolina, and officials said that posting could take place next summer.

Other command changes at Schofield Barracks and Fort Shafter, headquarters of U.S. Army Pacific: