The SS United States, the historic ocean liner that spent nearly three decades docked in the Delaware River, reached Alabama on Monday morning to begin final preparations for its sinking.
The ship, considered a titan of its time, spent about two weeks being towed 1,800 miles south around the tip of Florida.
It’s slated to become the world’s largest artificial reef when it is sunk about 20 miles off the coast of Florida.
The SS United States endured 14-foot waves that battered the ship off the coast of North Carolina and arrived earlier than expected Monday.
The nearly 1,000-foot-long vessel was purchased by Okaloosa County, Florida, to promote diving tourism off its shores.
Crowds gathered along the Delaware River in Gloucester City, Camden County to watch the ship pass beneath the Walt Whitman Bridge as it left Philadelphia.
The SS United States passes under the Walt Whitman Bridge, enroute to Okaloosa County, Florida in Gloucester City, NJ on Wednesday, February 19, 2025.Dave Hernandez | For NJ Advance
Off the coast of Florida, the United States sailed alongside the Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas, whose passengers captured photos as their ship passed by the ocean liner.
The ship is being brought to a dock in Mobile, Alabama. Admirers gathered onDauphin Island, a small shore town on the gulf, which was recently renamed “Gulf of America” but President Donald Trump, to watch the ship arrive.
The ship will be sunk about 20 nautical miles off the Destin, Florida, coast in about 180 feet of water, county officials said.
The ship will also become the first artificial reef paired with a land-based museum and visitor center, said the SS United States Conservancy, which saved it from being scrapped in 2011.
Florida officials intend to salvage the ship’s symbolic smokestacks and incorporate them into museum.
The ship became an unintentional staple of Philadelphia waterfront after it arrived in 1996, roughly three decades after being retired from commercial sea travel.
It was the star of the United States Lines, a defunct sailing company that ferried passengers across the world.
It’s most known as being the fastest ocean liner to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
Stories by Eric Conklin
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Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com.