The SS United States, a historic ocean liner, will become the world’s largest artificial reef.
The ocean liner once “shattered the transatlantic speed record on its maiden voyage in 1952.” It left Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s, Delaware River waterfront Wednesday and is being towed to Mobile, Alabama, prior to being sunk off the Sunshine State’s Gulf Coast.
Officials had hoped to have the 1,000-foot vessel make its final voyage last November; however, the U.S. Coast Guard was not convinced it was in good enough condition make the trip down south.
The New York Post wrote:
Officials in Okaloosa County on Florida’s coastal Panhandle hope it will become a barnacle-encrusted standout among the county’s more than 500 artificial reefs and a signature diving attraction that could generate millions of dollars annually in local tourism spending for scuba shops, charter fishing boats and hotels.
Officials have said the deal to buy the ship could eventually cost more than $10 million.
The lengthy process of cleaning, transporting and sinking the vessel is expected to take at least one-and-a-half years.
In 1952 the SS United States traveled across the Atlantic Ocean in three days, ten hours, and 40 minutes, beating the RMS Queen Mary‘s time by ten hours. The historic vessel still holds onto its record.
(Original Caption) A rugged tugboat pushes the sleek new super liner SS United States out into the North River here, on July 3, [1952] as she begins her maiden voyage to Europe. The 990-foot vessel, the largest and fastest ever built in the U.S., got a big sendoff from jubilant crowds that jammed the pier. The ship, constructed at a cost of $73,000,000, is unofficially trying to take the transatlantic speed crown, currently held by Britain’s liner Queen Mary. (Bettmann via Getty)
After the vessel became a reserve ship in the late 1960s, various private owners planned to redevelop it, however, they found it too expensive and too difficult to restore.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.
