Several Northwest Florida agencies announced Tuesday a regional collaboration to promote the deployment of the SS United States when it is transformed into the world’s largest artificial reef next year.
The collaboration will also designate the agencies who will oversee the tourism and environmental benefits of the historic vessel
The collaboration includes a partnership with Visit Pensacola and the Coastal Conservation Association to promote long-term tourism efforts for the historic former cruise ship known as “America’s Flagship.”
It is the first time Pensacola, the Florida Panhandle city about an hour’s drive east of Mobile, has been included in future plans for the massive vessel. Visit Pensacola is expected to approve $1.5 million next month, while the Coastal Conservation Association is appropriating $500,000.
The agreement was announced by the Okaloosa County Commissioners, who voted unanimously to back the marketing and tourism plan. The county purchased the ship for $1 million last year and allocated $10 million to have it moved from the East Coast to Mobile and then eventually into the Gulf near Destin and Fort Walton Beach.
“With the addition of the SS United States and Pensacola already home to the USS Oriskany, Northwest Florida is becoming one of the world’s most extraordinary destinations for divers and marine exploration,” said Visit Pensacola President and CEO Darien Schaefer.
The ship has been docked since early March at the Modern American Recycling and Repair Service facility south of downtown Mobile. There, the ship has been dismantled and prepared for its future deployment into the Gulf as part of a tourism project benefiting Northwest Florida.
The ship is scheduled for deployment out of Mobile in early 2026. The 990-foot SS United States will eventually be relocated about 22 nautical miles south of Destin and Fort Walton Beach and 32 nautical miles southeast of Pensacola Pass, where it will be sunk and turned into the world’s largest artificial reef.
While in Mobile, the iconic smokestacks have been removed. They will be repurposed and featured in a land-based museum and immersive exhibit highlighting the ship’s history within Okaloosa County.
Renderings of the future SS United States Museum and Visitor Experience in the Florida Panhandle.Rendering courtesy of Thinc | LMN Architects | Buro Happold.
The ship has provided an economic boost in Mobile as a tourist attraction. Several riverboat touring companies have offered water-based excursions to the vessel, with guides sharing its past as a glamorous ocean liner for celebrities.
Built in 1951, the SS United States is the largest ocean liner to be entirely constructed in the United States. It is the fastest ship of its kind to cross the Atlantic Ocean in either direction. During its heyday, the ship hosted luminaries such as Walt Disney, Marlon Brando, Bob Hope, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland and John Wayne.
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