The future for the famed ocean liner SS United States, which is facing eviction from its longtime home in Philadelphia, could be underwater.
Florida’s Okaloosa County in late August signed a contingent contract with the vessel’s owner, the SS United States Conservancy, to acquire the 990-foot ship to create the world’s largest artificial reef off Destin-Fort Walton Beach in the Florida Panhandle.
The contract, which requires approval by the Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners, also had numerous other hurdles to clear.
“We must emphasize that this proposal remains subject to various contingencies, including a successful negotiation with pier operator Penn Warehousing to extend the ship’s stay beyond the Sept. 12 deadline, while the complex logistics of moving and reefing the ship are worked out,” the conservancy said. “There are multiple discussions underway and many unresolved matters that make both the outcome and timing uncertain at this point.”
The Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners met Sept. 3 to vote on ratifying the executed contract, with closing set to occur on or before Oct. 4. But county officials ultimately delayed a final vote for at least two weeks due to an unspecified problem involving the pier owner, putting any vote beyond press time for Professional Mariner. The county declined to comment while the matter was pending.
The conservancy is lukewarm to the county’s plan but sees few alternatives. “Reefing is not the conservancy’s preferred scenario for the SS United States,” the nonprofit organization said.
But the conservancy is under considerable pressure to make a deal after a federal judge in August refused to grant the nonprofit an extension to remain at Pier 82 in Philadelphia later than the Sept. 12 eviction deadline set in June. While denying the motion by the conservancy, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Anita Brody suggested she would give the nonprofit more time to move the vessel if it had a signed contract for a new home before the deadline.
The ship’s potential fate beneath the sea emerged after the conservancy’s efforts to find a new temporary or permanent home in ports up and down the East Coast proved fruitless. The piers available were either too short or too shallow to accommodate the ship. The conservancy and maritime historians considered keeping the ship intact for divers and marine life preferable to scrapping it.
“In an intense and all-hands-on-deck effort to keep the ship safely afloat, we have conducted a massive nationwide search for a new temporary location — a search that has thus far yielded no viable alternatives,” the group said in a statement. “With our hand being forced by Penn Warehousing, and scrapping being the only other viable option, we believe reefing is the more dignified outcome.”
According to Okaloosa County documents, its Tourist Development Department is requesting up to $9 million for the acquisition, remediation, transport and sinking of SS United States. The project also includes development of a museum about the ship by the conservancy. Okaloosa County will provide up to $1 million for the museum, including property purchase, construction or renovation of an existing building.
The county expects the project to provide significant economic benefits. It noted the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany, an 888-foot vessel sunk off Pensacola in 2006 and currently the world’s largest artificial reef, attracts more than 10,000 divers annually, generating approximately $3.6 million per year in direct spending as of 2015. A University of Florida study estimates that every dollar spent on artificial reefs generates $7 in economic benefits for the local economy, with larger projects potentially yielding higher revenues.
The county anticipates the project will attract higher-spending, lower-impact visitors beyond the traditional 100-day summer season. And by creating new habitat for marine life, it is expected to boost commercial and recreational fishing. The county has identified three permitted reefing areas that can accommodate the ship, all less than 25 miles from shore and suitable for divers of varied experience levels.
County staff have identified potential funding partners to share the $9 million cost. So far, the county claims to have secured about $5 million in contributions.
SS United States, launched in 1952, still holds the record for the fastest trans-Atlantic crossing by an ocean liner. The vessel retired from service in 1969 as cross-Atlantic travel became more common. It has berthed at Pier 82 in Philadelphia since the mid-1990s.
In June, Judge Brody ruled that the ship’s Philadelphia landlord, Penn Warehousing, could not double dockage fees without notice in its effort to force the conservancy to move the ship from Pier 82 in Philadelphia, sparking a frantic search for a new home.
In its court filing, the conservancy stated the Philadelphia Navy Yard does not have space at the government-controlled berths, while port authorities in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia have not offered solutions. The organization confirmed it was in discussions with two Florida countries, Escambia and Okaloosa, about reefing the ocean liner.
The conservancy in its court filing said it would need U.S. Coast Guard approval for the move and to conduct a stability assessment. The conservancy also is obtaining a hydrographic survey of the water depth around the vessel and pier.
Florida’s Escambia County has already sunk several ships as artificial reefs, including the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany. The Texas company that sank Oriskany in 2006 told county officials that it would cost about $8.6 million to sink United States. The conservancy and previous owners have already stripped much of the interior and removed any hazardous materials from the ship.
SS United States was built with a radical design by William Francis Gibbs, using more aluminum than for any previous ship to make it light and fast. In its maiden roundtrip voyages in 1952, the ship set still-unbroken trans-Atlantic speed records averaging about 35 knots (40.2 mph). During speed trials, the ship reached 44 miles per hour.
After ending commercial service in 1969, the federal government acquired the ship and then sold it in the late 1970s as a series of developers examined plans to put it back into service. The ship was acquired by Norwegian Cruise Line in 2003 and then in 2011 by the conservancy. In 2016, Crystal Cruises explored rebuilding United States as a modern cruise ship before abandoning the idea after a $1 million feasibility study determined there were too many problems to overcome.