Following several last-minute delays for inspections and weather complications, the SS United States has left her berth in Philadelphia and begun her 2,000-mile journey from the City of Brotherly Love south to Mobile, Alabama.
On her last night in Philly, she was appropriately lit up in red, white, and blue as a final farewell.
The departure is a bittersweet one for fans of the aged ocean liner who had hoped for some alternative solution instead of the plan for the ship to be sunk as what will be the world’s largest artificial coral reef.
While it is amazing to witness the SS United States underway again after decades of stillness, even with tugs providing the propulsion, the maneuvering of the ship must be handled very carefully to preserve her integrity and ensure there are no complications.
The ship’s route is being updated every six hours based on fresh data to ensure the safest, smoothest, and most efficient move. The tow along the eastern seaboard all the way to Mobile is expected to take approximately two weeks, though the exact timing is still subject to any further changes en route.
Fans of the ship can tune in to live route tracking of the vessel’s movements. It is hoped that as the SS United States makes her way south, select viewing opportunities may become available so more fans and supporters can enjoy seeing the ship on the move once more.
Once she reaches Mobile, the ship will undergo extensive preparation for scuttling. All hazardous materials must be removed to ensure there is no environmental risk in the new reef, and the hull will be reinforced in such a way that she will land upright on the ocean floor once she is sunk.
This positioning will make her a safe and attractive diving attraction just off the coast of Destin-Fort Worth Beach, though the exact location where the ship will be sunk has not yet been confirmed.
Could the Ship Have Been Saved?
The multiple delays in the last days of the ship’s time in Philadelphia spawned some false hope that there might be an alternative for her to be saved.
This was further exacerbated by an unaffiliated “coalition” rising up in the final weeks, claiming the ship could be saved but without a solid and legal plan to do so.
So powerful was the message – urging hope and appealing to the sentimentality of those who support the conservation of the vessel – that the SS United States Conservancy was compelled to thoroughly explain exactly why the ship could no longer be saved.
The coalition had cited a variety of outdated public laws that were initially enacted in the 1970s to preserve the vessel, but that have since been overruled by later laws that now take precedence.
“In essence, the earlier public laws no longer have practical authority over the vessel’s fate,” the Conservancy stated.
“Any actions taken with the SS United States, such as its ownership by Okaloosa County and pending conversion into an artificial reef, must adhere to today’s stringent maritime and environmental regulations, which have effectively replaced the outdated provisions of the 1970s laws.”
To be clear, the Conservancy noted that should the ship not be able to be deployed as an artificial reef, the only other possible course of action would be the complete scrapping of the vessel. If that were to happen, the entire ship’s legacy would be lost.
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While moving the SS United States beneath the waves may not be the outcome that had been hoped for over the past few years, the nearby land-based museum that is planned will help preserve the ship and ensure future generations can appreciate her as the testament to ingenuity, engineering, and perseverance she has been.
