Retired SS United States to become the world’s largest artificial reef
The last voyage of the SS United States is now underway, once its prepped and cleaned it will sink and become the world’s largest artificial reef.
Four tugboats are moving the SS United States to Mobile, Alabama.It’ll take about a year to remove all contaminants before it can become a reef off Okaloosa County.The SS United States hit 44 mph during sea trials. In comparison, today’s cruise ships travel at around 28 mph.
The fastest ocean liner ever to cross the Atlantic Ocean is on its way to the Gulf Coast.
The voyage will take about two weeks and it won’t end well for the ship.
The long-retired SS United States will become the world’s largest artificial reef off the Florida coast after its cleaned and renovated in Mobile, Alabama.
That’s a much different life from where the SS United States started, when it set the transatlantic speed record on its maiden voyage, crossing the Atlantic in 3.5 days. It’s a record it still holds today, according to the SS United States Conservancy.
Here’s what to know about the ship and its future.
SS United States leaves Pennsylvania for trip to Mobile, Alabama
The SS United States left Delaware Bay Thursday, heading for Mobile, Alabama, a trip expected to take two weeks.
The ships engines are no longer functioning, so the ship is being guided by four tugboats along the Atlantic coast before it moves into the Gulf of Mexico, renamed to the Gulf of America by executive order from President Trump.
Live: Track the progress of the SS United States as it heads toward final destination off Florida
➤ Follow the SS United States on this tracking map
SS United States to become reef off Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Officials in Okaloosa County bought the SS United States from the SS United States Conservancy last year.Â
The ocean liner will be sunk off the coast,  where it will become the “world’s largest artificial reef,” according to the Destin-Fort Walton Beach’s tourism website.Â
“Once deployed off Destin-Fort Walton Beach, at nearly 1,000-feet long, the SS United States will be a home for a diverse range of marine life and attract divers and anglers from around the world.”
Exactly where the ship will be sunk hasn’t yet been determined but it’s  expected to lie about 20 nautical miles south of the Florida Panhandle in the Destin-Fort Walton Beach area.
The underwater ship will be turned into an “immersive experience” for divers, according to the tourism website.Â
Florida officials also are planning to build a museum on land for the ship. The museum will include the ship’s funnels, radar mast and other components, and an extensive curatorial and archival collection.
How many artificial reefs are currently off Okaloosa County, Florida?What will happen to the SS United States in Mobile?
Modern American Recycling Services, a company specializing in vessel salvage, will remove contaminants from the ship and prepare it to be sunk.
That process is expected to take about a year. Â
Where was the SS United States before being moved to the Gulf Coast?
The SS United States has been anchored at Pier 82 on Philadelphia’s Delaware River since 1996.
History of the SS United States
The ocean liner:
Was in service from 1952 to 1969It was widely known as “America’s Flagship”It was the fastest passenger ship ever built and the largest ever made in the USAThe SS United States still holds the transatlantic speed record, achieved on her maiden voyage using only two-thirds of her power. During sea trials she hit 44 miles per hour. Modern cruise ships travel at around 28 mph.The ship could be quickly converted into a troop carrier able to transport 14,000 military service members for 10,000 miles without refueling, and she could do it faster than any other ship before or since.Famous passengers included Walt Disney, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Sean Connery, Walter Cronkite, Judy Garland, Cary Grant, Charlton Heston, Bob Hope, Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.Four presidents traveled on the ship: Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Bill Clinton.The ship was sold multiple times between the late 1970s and early 2000s to several people who tried and failed to redevelop it into various tourist attractions.  It was sold to Okaloosa County in 2024. SS United States compared to RMS Titanic. See the differences
Group fights to preserves historic ship’s legacy
A lawsuit is trying to evict the SS United States, from its current resting place in Philadelphia. Video provided by Joe Warner/Special to Delaware News Journal. 5/13/23
Damian Giletto, Delaware News Journal
Length
United States: 990 feetTitanic: 882.5 feet
Decks
United States: 12Titanic: 9
Capacity
United States: 3,016 (or 15,000 troops)Titanic: 3,547
Cabins
United States: first class 894; 524 cabin class; 554 tourist class; 1,044 crewTitanic: first class 735; 674 second class; 1,024 third class; 860 crew
Transatlantic crossings
United States: 800Titanic: 0
Top speed
United States: 44 mphTitanic: 28 mph
Dates in service
United States: June 3, 1952 to Nov. 14, 1969Titanic: April 10, 1912 to April 15, 1912
All information provided by SS United States Conservancy.
SS United States trivia about wood and a piano you just have to know
The SS United States was built almost completely fireproof. It was said the only wood aboard the ship were the “pianos and the butcher’s blocks.”
“William Francis Gibbs, the vessel’s designer, only allowed mahogany pianos on board after Theodore Steinway succeeded in demonstrating his pianos’ fire-resistant qualities by dousing one of them in gasoline and setting it alight,” according to the SS United States Conservancy.
Contributing: Lori Comstock, Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY; Collin Bestor, Northwest Florida Daily News
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Publish date : 2025-02-22 23:31:00
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