Historic Ship Could Become World's Largest Artificial Reef
A historic ocean liner that once ferried immigrants, Hollywood stars and heads of state may soon find its final resting place at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, after a Florida county approved a deal to turn the ship into the world's largest artificial reef.
The SS United States, which is over 30 meters longer than the Titanic, is the largest passenger ship ever built in the US.
On her first voyage in 1952 she broke the record for the fastest transatlantic crossing by a passenger liner — crossing the Atlantic in just three days, 10 hours and 40 minutes. And during her 17 years at sea her famous passengers included Coco Chanel, Marilyn Monroe, Walt Disney and four US presidents!
The SS United States was retired in 1969 and has been docked at a pier in Philadelphia since 1996. Over the years she has had a series of owners until she was bought by the SS United States Conservancy — an organization dedicated to the ship's preservation — in 2011.
In recent years, while the Conservancy has tried to find a new purpose for the ship that would save it from scrapping, the organization has also been in a dispute with the Philadelphia pier's owners over rent and docking fees.
Although officials in Okaloosa County in Florida have now approved a contract to buy the ship, the deal won't be finalized until this ongoing dispute is settled in court.
If the deal with Okaloosa County — which could cost over $10 million — goes ahead, the plan is to sink the ship off the Florida coast to create an artificial reef. There it would join more than 500 artificial reefs that have already been created by the county to create homes for marine wildlife and locations for diving and fishing.
A museum would be built on land to celebrate the ship's history and as the world's largest artificial reef, the SS United States would become a major diving attraction that could generate millions of dollars a year from local tourism.
