Nearly 60 years after she was decommissioned, the SS United States will find a way to serve her country one last time.
The historic ocean liner is headed to Mobile, AL., to eventually be moved off the coast of Okaloosa Co., Florida.
Once the vessel reaches its destination, it will be sunken to become the world’s largest artificial reef.
The journey around Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico was expected to take roughly 4 days but was delayed due to rough seas off the coast of Miami.
While the journey is taking longer than expected, the process of stripping, cleaning, and sinking the ship could take as long as 18 months and cost around $10 million.
However, the return on investment is vast.
Artificial reefs have done wonders for marine life and also serve as points of interest for scuba divers, both of which could do wonders for the environment and economy of Okaloosa Co. off the coast which is the future location of the reef.
The United States was built from 1950-51 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Newport News, VA. The 990-foot-long vessel is longer than the RMS Titanic and is the largest ocean liner ever built in the United States.
She set sail for her maiden voyage on July 3, 1952, from New York City to Southampton, UK, during which the United States surpassed the RMS Queen Mary for the quickest transatlantic voyage.
The ship continued to be a magnet for celebrity passengers and immigrants alike, making over 800 journeys across the Atlantic, and not a single one of them was bogged by major mechanical malfunctions.
She was taken out of service in November of 1969, where the vessel remained in possession of the US Maritime Association, before bouncing around private owners.
During this time, the United States fell into disrepair. The vessel’s interior furniture was auctioned off in 1984 and her once beautiful interior was stripped to the base in 1994.
The United States was moved to Philadelphia in 1996, where it has remained ever since. The ship was purchased by the SS United States Conservancy in 2011 and has tried ever since to raise enough funds to prevent her from being scrapped, but the cost became too high, and they sold the United States to Okaloosa Co. in the fall of 2024.
Okaloosa Co. plans to sink the vessel near Destin, FL. Experts project the United States to greatly improve the health of marine life in the area due to the establishment of such a massive new reef, critical for an area devastated by the loss of natural reefs.
The SS United States is expected to reach Mobile in the first week of March.
