When we last brought you word of the SS United States, the future of the storied vessel was unclear. Since 1996, the 990 foot (302 meter) ship — the largest ocean liner ever to be constructed in the United States — had been wasting away at Pier 82 in Philadelphia. While the SS United States Conservancy was formed in 2009 to support the ship financially and attempt to redevelop it into a tourist attraction, their limited funding meant little could be done to restore or even maintain it. In January of 2024, frustrated by the lack of progress, the owners of the pier took the Conservancy to court and began the process of evicting the once-great liner.

SS United States docked at Pier 82 in Philadelphia

It was hoped that a last-minute investor might appear, allowing the Conservancy to move the ship to a new home. But unfortunately, the only offer that came in wasn’t quite what fans of the vessel had in mind: Florida’s Okaloosa County offered $1 million to purchase the ship so they could sink it and turn it into the world’s largest artificial reef.

The Conservancy originally considered it a contingency offer, stating that they would only accept it if no other options to save the ship presented themselves. But by October of 2024, with time running out, they accepted Okaloosa’s offer as a more preferable fate for the United States than being scrapped.

It at least means the ship will remain intact — acting not only as an important refuge for aquatic life, but as a destination for recreational divers for decades to come. The Conservancy has also announced plans to open a museum in Okaloosa, where artifacts from the ship will be on display.

Laying a Behemoth to Rest

Sinking a ship is easy enough, it happens accidentally all the time. But intentionally sinking a ship, technically referred to as scuttling, in such a way that it sits upright on the bottom is another matter entirely. Especially for a ship the size of the SS United States, which will officially become both the largest intact ocean liner on the seafloor (beating out HMHS Britannic and her sister RMS Titanic) and the largest artificial reef in the world (taking the title from the USS Oriskany) when it eventually goes down.

The SS United States is currently in Mobile, Alabama, where it is being prepared for scuttling by Modern American Recycling Services and Coleen Marine. After a complete survey of the ship’s structural state, holes will be strategically cut throughout the hull. These will let the ship take on water in a more predictable way during the sinking, and also allow access to the inside of the hull for both sea life and divers. Internally, hatches and bulkheads will be removed for the same reason, though areas deemed too dangerous for recreational divers may be sealed off for safety.

At the same time, the ship must be thoroughly cleaned before it makes its final plunge into the waters off of Florida’s coast. Any remaining fuel or lubricants must be removed, as will any loose paint. Plastics that could break down, and anything that might contain traces of toxins such as lead or mercury, will also be stripped from the ship. In the end, the goal is to have very little left beyond the hull itself and machinery that’s too large to remove.

The forward funnel of the SS United States is removed and loaded onto a barge.

Finally, there’s the issue of depth. While the final resting place of the SS United States has yet to be determined, the depth is limited by the fact that Okaloosa wants to encourage recreational divers to visit. The upper decks of the ship must be located at a depth that’s reasonable for amateur divers to reach safely, but at the same time, the wreck can’t present a hazard to navigation for ships on the surface.

Once on the bottom, the goal is to have the upper decks of the ship at a depth of approximately 55 feet (17 m), making it accessible to even beginner divers. Unfortunately, the ship’s iconic swept-back funnels stand 65 feet (20 m) off the deck. While the tips of the funnels breaking through the surface of the water might make for a striking visual, it would of course be completely impractical.

As such, the funnels and mast of the United States have just recently been removed. But thankfully, they aren’t being sent off to the scrapper. Instead, they will become key components of what the Conservancy is calling the “SS United States Museum and Visitor Experience.”

Honoring America’s Flagship

While the SS United States will welcome visitors willing to get their feet wet, not everyone who wants to explore the legacy of the ship will have to strap on a scuba tank. As part of the deal to purchase the ship, Okaloosa County has been working with the Conservancy to develop a museum dedicated to the ship and the cultural milieu in which she was developed and built.

Naturally, the museum will house many artifacts from the ship’s career. The Conservancy is already in the process of recalling many of the items in their collection which were loaned out while the ship was docked in Philadelphia. But uniquely, the building will also incorporate parts of the ship itself, including the funnels, mast, anchor, and at least one of the propellers.

Concept art for the SS United States Museum and Visitor Experience by Thinc Design.

Combined with some clever architecture by Thinc Design, the idea is for the museum’s structure to invoke the look of the ship itself. The Conservancy has released a number of concept images that depict various approaches being considered, the most striking of which essentially recreates the profile of the great liner with its bow extended out over the Florida waters.

A Bittersweet Farewell

To be sure, this is not the fate that the SS United States Conservancy had in mind when they purchased the ship. Over the years, they put forth a number of proposals that would have seen the ship either turned into a static attraction like the Queen Mary or returned to passenger service. But the funding always fell through, and with each year that passed the ship’s condition only got worse, making its potential restoration even more expensive.

Image Credit: SS United States Conservancy

It’s an unfortunate reality that many great ships have ended up being sold for scrap. Consider the RMS Olympic; despite  being the last surviving ship of her class after the sinking of her sisters Titanic and Britannic, and having a long and storied career that included service as a troop ship during the First World War, she ended up having her fittings auctioned off before ultimately being torn to pieces in the late 1930s. It was an ending so unceremonious that the exact date of her final demolition has been lost to time. Meanwhile her sunken sisters, safe from the scrapper’s reach on the sea floor, continue to be studied and explored to this day.

In an ideal world, the SS United States would be afforded the same treatment as the USS New Jersey — it would be lovingly restored and live on as a museum ship for future generations to appreciate. But failing that, it would seem that spending the next century or so playing host to schools of fish and awestruck scuba divers is a more fitting end to America’s flagship than being turned into so many paperclips.

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