[bosco24]

-The were several reason the Iowa’s were decommissioned in the 1990s. The USSR had collapsed, and the ships were getting worn out and it was increasingly difficult to maintain them.-

And, of course, safety was a problem with them as they did have a turrent explosion that killed 47 sailors.

The cause of the explosion was never determined. The best guess was that the old powder was unstable and an over-ram of the powder during loading the gun caused the explosion.

[Widget Jr]

Wikipedia, Iowa turret explosion, and has 150+ references. The Navy had a vested interest into the cause being a "suicidal gay sailor" or "unknown causes", and really was not interested in any investigation going further. Which was noted by Sandia Labs as they tried to run a proper investigation.