Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
Nearly a year after last-minute efforts to save the ship and two years since it departed Philadelphia waters, the SS United States is about to set sail on its final voyage. <\/p>\n
The 990-foot retired ocean liner that stayed docked for three decades at Pier 82 will become the world\u2019s largest artificial reef. Officials in Okaloosa County, Fla., announced plans for the historic ship to be sunk in November.<\/p>\n
The ship\u2019s winding history and its yearslong purgatorial state piqued locals\u2019 interest for what seemed like forever. It stood as an unofficial geographical marker in South Philadelphia<\/a>, with a number of different owners sinking more than $40 million<\/a> into ownership, maintenance, and other various plans for its future. <\/p>\n All that changed in 2024 when the ship sold to Okaloosa County<\/a>. <\/p>\n Its previous owners, the SS United States Conservancy, worked hard to avoid the scrapyard, making appeals to different states for funding after its Pier 82 landlord took it to court for the ship\u2019s removal. <\/p>\n As the deadline loomed, Okaloosa County\u2019s tourism department emerged as a buyer with plans to sink the ship and create the artificial reef as a boon for tourism. <\/p>\n The Florida plans were met with mixed reviews. Late last year, the New York Coalition to Save the SS United States launched an appeal to stop the move <\/a>and allocate New York City funding for the ship\u2019s preservation. The plans fell short \u2014 and Okaloosa County moved forward. <\/p>\n