Nearly a year after last-minute efforts to save the ship and two years since it departed Philadelphia waters, the SS United States is about to set sail on its final voyage.
The 990-foot retired ocean liner that stayed docked for three decades at Pier 82 will become the world’s largest artificial reef. Officials in Okaloosa County, Fla., announced plans for the historic ship to be sunk in November.
The ship’s winding history and its yearslong purgatorial state piqued locals’ interest for what seemed like forever. It stood as an unofficial geographical marker in South Philadelphia, with a number of different owners sinking more than $40 million into ownership, maintenance, and other various plans for its future.
All that changed in 2024 when the ship sold to Okaloosa County.
Its previous owners, the SS United States Conservancy, worked hard to avoid the scrapyard, making appeals to different states for funding after their Pier 82 landlord took them to court for the ship’s removal.
As the deadline loomed, Okaloosa County’s tourism department emerged as a buyer with plans to sink the ship and create the artificial reef as a boon for tourism.
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The Florida plans were met with mixed reviews. Late last year, the New York Coalition to Save the SS United States launched an appeal to stop the move and allocate New York City funding for the ship’s preservation. The plans fell short — and Okaloosa County moved forward.
Florida officials said they worked for months on clearing the ship, removing nonmetal items, and cutting holes through its body since the sinking is to be done without explosives.
Now, according to a county spokesperson, the plan is to deploy the ship in the Gulf of Mexico, about 22 nautical miles southwest of Destin-Fort Walton Beach in the second week of November. The exact sink date will depend on weather and other logistics.
“The Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners is working with our safety and security partners for a safe and efficient deployment,” the spokesperson said. “This is an exciting move forward to create a one-of-a-kind resource for the environment and for our tourism industry.”
Staff writer Ximena Conde contributed to this article.