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A historic ocean liner will become the world’s largest artificial reef after it’s sunk off Florida’s Gulf Coast early next year.Okaloosa County officials announced Tuesday that they expect to sink the SS United States in early 2026 about 22 nautical miles (41 kilometers) southwest of Destin and 32 nautical miles (59 kilometers) southeast of Pensacola.The nearly 1,000-foot (305-meter) vessel, which shattered the trans-Atlantic speed record on its maiden voyage in 1952, has spent most of this year at the Port of Mobile in Alabama, being scoured to remove chemicals, wiring, plastic and glass.Regional PartnershipThe ship’s final location was selected as...

The second 65-foot funnel was removed last Friday from the historic ocean liner in Mobile, Alabama.The aft funnel aboard the SS United States was removed last Friday in Mobile, Alabama, as another major step in preparing the vessel to become the world’s largest artificial reef, according to Okaloosa County.• The towering funnels, each standing 65 feet tall and as tall as a six-story building, were removed last week. The remaining propeller was also removed last Friday and loaded on the same barge as the aft funnel. These items are among many others being preserved to be incorporated in the SS...

MOBILE, Al. - The SS United States has completed its voyage from Philadelphia to Mobile, Alabama, where it will be prepped to become part of the world's largest artificial reef. The historic ship spent over a week being tugged down the East Coast after it ceremoniously left its pier in South Philadelphia where it had been docked for decades. "The SS United States will never stop teaching us about American pride, purpose, and possibility." Warren Jones from the SS United States Conservancy said.

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Officials say the S.S. United States is expected to dock in Mobile about noon. Here is a portion of a release from myokaloosa.com Media Advisory: SS United States Arrival in Mobile Mobile, Alabama – The SS United States is expected to begin her journey into the Mobile Bay about 6 a.m. on Monday, March 3, 2025. From there, she will make her way to the docks at Modern American Recycling Services (MARS) located at 601 South Royal Street, Mobile, AL 36603 with an expected arrival at 12 p.m. (This time will fluctuate depending on multiple factors....

The conservancy that oversees the SS United States has launched an urgent $500,000 fundraising campaign to help cover relocation expenses for the historic ship amid its uncertain future. The 1,000-foot ocean liner, which still holds the transatlantic speed record it set more than 70 years ago, must leave its berth on the Delaware River in Philadelphia by Sept. 12, a federal judge ruled earlier this month. Besides finding a new home, the conservancy also must obtain funds for insurance, tugs, surveys and dock preparations for moving the ship, which is incapable of self-propulsion. The group is focusing its efforts on...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The SS United States, a historic ship that still holds the transatlantic speed record it set more than 70 years ago, must leave its berth on the Delaware River in Philadelphia by Sept. 12, a federal judge says. The decision issued Friday by U.S. District Judge Anita Brody culminated a years-old rent dispute between the conservancy that oversees the 1,000-foot ocean liner and its landlord, Penn Warehousing. It stemmed from an August 2021 decision by Penn Warehousing to double the ship's daily dockage to $1,700, an increase the conservancy refused to accept. When the conservancy continued to...

The SS United States is facing eviction from its mooring at Pier 82 in Philadelphia in a lawsuit filed by Penn Warehousing, the pier’s landlord. The ocean liner has been rusting away in the Delaware River since 1996 but has a storied past. In 1952, it broke the once-highly sought record for the fastest transatlantic crossing, the last passenger ship to do so. The SS United States Conservancy, a non-profit attempting to restore the ship, admits that relocation will be necessary but is still aiming to preserve the vessel. The potential eviction stems from rent increases that could be against...

"A major development today in the ongoing saga to save the SS United States from a trip the scrapyard. Los Angeles-based Crystal Cruises says it has signed a purchase option for the historic – yet weathered – transatlantic steam ship and plans to refurbish the vessel and return it to oceangoing service as a modern luxury cruise ship. The announcement was made Thursday by Crystal Cruises together with the SS United States Conservancy preservation group at a press conference at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal in New York City."

PHILADELPHIA -- Dan McSweeney has a few ideas for saving the United States. That would be the SS United States -- the fastest ocean liner in the world. Bigger than the Titanic and fast enough to water-ski behind, she's a steamship so sophisticated, her capabilities remained a Cold War secret for decades. She transported royalty and starlets. Her crew served frog legs in first class. Before the dawn of the jet age, the SS United States was the Concorde of her era. 'Big U' in Big Trouble? Admirers call her the "Big U." Today, she could be in big trouble....

America's national flagship, the SS United States, is being listed for sale after more than a decade on the Philadelphia waterfront. This means there's a good chance she'll be broken up and sold for scrap - an unacceptable fate for a vessel that served as America's Cold War ambassador-at-sea, the perfect embodiment of U.S. power and efficiency. This legendary passenger ship sailed from New York to Europe and other destinations from 1952 to 1969. Its manifests listed U.S. and foreign presidents, a multitude of A-list celebrities, and a generation of leaders in business, diplomacy, culture, and the arts. (Bill Clinton...

Efforts to save the SS United States — a storied former ocean liner that has been mothballed in South Philadelphia — have apparently fallen through. Two Washington, D.C.-based foundations that seek to preserve the ship are sounding the alarm that the historic vessel may be sold for scrap metal. Robert Westover, who heads the SS United States Foundation, said this week that plans for refurbishment by Norwegian Cruise Line appear to be dead, and that the ship may be sold to a scrap dealer. “I’m hoping this does not have a sad end, but it’s shaping up as an American...

The SS United States, once the fastest passenger liner afloat, has been saved from the scrapyard - at least for a time. The vessel was decommissioned in 1969, when jets replaced ships as the preferred way to cross the Atlantic. For seven years, it has been rusting away in South Philadelphia, owned by a real estate tycoon who dreamed of restoring it. The 990-foot-long ship has a new owner - Norwegian Cruise Lines of Miami, a unit of Star Cruises of Malaysia. The company, the world's fourth-largest cruise line, confirmed yesterday that it had purchased the vessel for an undisclosed...

PHILADELPHIA — An ocean liner that was the biggest and fastest ever built in the United States, and a symbol of national prestige until it was left to rot on the Philadelphia waterfront, may soon sail again. Norwegian Cruise Lines said Monday it has purchased the SS United States and intends to refurbish and return it to service, a half-century after the massive steamship set a speed record for a trans-Atlantic crossing. The announcement amazed preservation groups, who had been fighting what looked like a losing battle to rescue the ship from being scrapped. "I'm stunned," said Susan Gibbs, the...

Norwegian Cruise Line Acquires U.S. Flagship S/S United States Company to Build on New U.S.-flag Operation Miami, April 14 - Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) announced today it has purchased the S/S United States, one of the country's most venerable ships built in the glory days of trans-Atlantic sea travel. NCL intends to convert the vessel to a state-of-the art, modern cruise ship and to add her to NCL's planned US flagged fleet. A relaunched S/S United States will add more than 1,000 American maritime jobs and 5,000 shoreside jobs to the 3,000 maritime jobs and 17,000 shoreside jobs that NCL's...

The iconic SS United States, once a Philadelphia landmark, begins her final chapter as an artificial reef off Florida's Gulf Coast. The SS United States has been proudly featured in previous AMAC articles, so it is fitting to acknowledge her final chapter. Purchased for $1 million, with over $10 million more needed to ready her, the famed retired ocean liner will soon become an artificial reef off Destin–Fort Walton Beach. The project is expected to attract tourists and divers, help offset its costs, and support a distinctive marine ecosystem. An Iconic Presence on Philadelphia’s WaterfrontThose who visited IKEA in Philadelphia...

After years of uncertainty, delays, and preparations, we finally have a timeline for when the historic SS United States will be sent to the bottom of the Gulf.Late on Friday night, October 9, 2026, officials in Okaloosa County, Florida, announced that the legendary ocean liner is scheduled to be deployed as the world’s largest artificial reef during the second week of November 2026.The ship will be sunk approximately 22 nautical miles, or 25 miles, southwest of Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Florida.While an exact date has not been announced, county officials say the operation will be weather-dependent, meaning the timeline could change.This...

The SS United States is facing one final hurdle before the historic ocean liner can be sunk and turned into an artificial reef off Florida. Officials in Okaloosa County, who own the vessel, say they are still waiting for sign-off from the US Army Corps of Engineers, with the federal delay keeping the ship in Mobile, Alabama, for now. County commissioners have approved another $1.2m for the project, including $944,000 to keep the vessel docked in Mobile if necessary. The remaining funding covers towing, deployment and regulatory costs. The 990ft liner, once the fastest passenger ship in the world, arrived...

History lovers are outraged after government officials approved the sinking of a historic American flagship that was once hailed as the country's fastest ocean liner. The SS United States first hit the waters in 1952 and carried American icons like former President John F Kennedy, Walt Disney, Debbie Reynolds and Marlon Brando. The ship also appears in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, starring Marilyn Monroe, and West Side Story. In 1969, the ship was retired to the US Navy, where it sat until 1978. The ocean liner has passed through multiple hands since, but was never given a second act. The SS...

At least 12 people, including six children as young as 11, have been injured in a mass shooting near a Florida university football stadium during packed homecoming celebrations. Eleven people were struck by gunfire when violence erupted near Florida A&M University's Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee on Saturday night, sending terrified crowds scrambling for cover. Three victims suffered serious injuries, including one who remained in critical condition, while eight others were reported to be stable. Among those caught up in the bloodshed were six juveniles, with the youngest victim just 11 years old. A twelfth person, the grandmother of one...

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Friday said he told his administration to file its lawsuit to block certification of the U.S. Senate race in Alaska if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses, kicking off what many fear could become a lengthy battle between the government and states over certifying an election where the president’s party is struggling. “I’m the one that said do it,” Trump told reporters as he landed for a campaign rally in Florida. The lawsuit, filed late Thursday by the Department of Justice, centers on one of the president’s long-standing complaints in the Senate race — the presence...