After spending nearly three decades moored at a commercial dock in South Philadelphia, the SS United States, a retired ocean liner that’s been the subject of repeatedly failed restoration efforts, appears destined for the ocean floor.
The ship appears to be on its way to becoming an artificial reef after Okaloosa County, Florida, said it is considering a $9 million agreement to acquire the historic vessel. The Florida county wants to make it a diving tourist spot as part of a five-year investment plan in seabed recreation in the state.
Neighboring Escambia County also showed interest in the vessel at a meeting over the summer.
Meanwhile, the ship remains docked at Pier 82 in Philadelphia. It only has a few days to leave after a federal judge ruled it must abandon its berth leased by Penn Warehousing. The company and the SS United States Conservancy, which has owned the ocean liner since rescuing it from the scrapyard in 2011, have been in a rental dispute that was taken to court earlier this year.
The judge ordered the ship to leave its South Philadelphia home by Sept. 12, forcing conservationists to scramble to find a temporary dock or explore other options. Hurried by the courts, the conservancy unsuccessfully asked the judge for an extended stay while it looked for a temporary home for the ship.
Left with few options, the group announced plans for a contingent contract with Okaloosa County Friday. Fundraisers hoped to turn the famed vessel into a hotel or museum, but the conservancy said becoming an artificial reef is the best alternative to keep the ship from being scrapped.
“We completely understand that the prospect of reefing the SS United States may be challenging to contemplate,” the nonprofit group said in a statement. “Many members of the Conservancy’s Board of Directors have been working to avoid such an outcome for over a decade.”
An attorney representing Penn Warehousing in the litigation between the company and the conservancy did not immediately return a request by NJ Advance Media for comment.
Oskaloosa County commissioners on Tuesday were expected to approve the contract at their first of two meetings for September, according to an agenda. Officials believe repurposing the ship to become an artificial reef could cost about $9 million. That would pay for the acquisition, remediation, transport and deployment of both the ship and a land-based museum of the ship’s history.
The county borders the Gulf of Mexico, making its seabed a prime spot to develop dive-exploration tourism. At nearly 1,000 feet, the SS United States would become the world’s largest artificial reef.
Officials anticipate taking in about $5 million for the project through partnership contributions.
Local officials have been eyeing the ship for the county’s five-year diving tourism investment plan since 2022. Purchasing the ship alone would cost about $1 million, according to a letter from Jennifer Adams, Oskaloosa’s director of tourism development.
County officials have until Oct. 4 to initiate an agreement with Penn Warehousing to tow the ocean liner south.
A vote on the deal, however, was tabled Tuesday over what one Okaloosa County official called a “wrinkle with pier operators,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. County commissioners don’t meet again until Sept. 17, five days after the court-imposed deadline to leave the pier.
The SS United States would join the USS Oriskany on the ocean floor. The former Naval aircraft carrier was sunk in 2006 approximately 22.5 nautical miles southeast of Pensacola Pass off the Florida Panhandle. At 212 feet deep, about 10,000 divers yearly explore the sunken Naval ship, generating over $3 million in annual economic impact, Adams’ letter states.
Exterior of the S.S. United States docked at Pier 82 in South Philadelphia, on Saturday, July 27, 2024.Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media
Sailing worldwide in the mid-20th century, the SS United States was a premier ship, reaching a world record at the time for the fastest trip across the Atlantic Ocean. Her passengers included celebrities and U.S. presidents.
It was retired toward the end of 1969.
The vessel has been in Philadelphia since the 1990s, when it returned from Europe after retirement. Rusting and stripped of most of its internal features, the ship has intrigued passersby driving the Walt Whitman Bridge between the city and New Jersey.
Desperate for a temporary parking spot since June’s court order, conservancy leaders raced to find a temporary dock. Several targets in New Jersey either were too short for a ship of that size or were unavailable because they had contracts with container ships.
Reports say Escambia County in Florida initially appeared poised to repurpose the ship for an artificial reef off of its coast. County officials did not immediately return a request by NJ Advance Media on Tuesday for comment.
Stories by Eric Conklin
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Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com.