SS United States, the Historic 990-Foot Ocean Liner That Broke Records, Will Be Sunk to Create a World’s Largest Artificial Reef

The SS United States is used to making history. On its maiden voyage in 1952, it broke the transatlantic speed record, completing the trip in three hours, 10 days, and 40 minutes. To this day, more than 70 years later, its record remains unbroken.

Soon, the SS United States will make waves once more when county officials in Okaloosa County, Florida sink it to create the world’s largest artificial reef.

The SS United States

Also known as “America’s Flagship,” the SS United States was made in America by more than 3,000 people with parts and products from every state. The 990-foot passenger ship—more than 100 feet longer than the Titanic—is described by the Conservancy that oversees it as “the living icon of the American dream.” The SS United States is the fastest ship in history, with the ability to travel at 38 knots, or 44 miles per hour.

The ship was synonymous with luxury, with 395 staterooms, 14 first-class cabins, and 23 public rooms. The rooms themselves were designed with vibrant colors in mind.

“Artwork tended to be of glass or other spun fibers, all with patriotic themes: the first-class dining room contained sculptures representing the four freedoms, while the Observation Lounge contained murals of ocean currents and depictions of constellations,” the Conservancy explains on its website.

Besides being a luxurious passenger ship, the SS United States had another purpose. It could be converted into a military ship, if needed, and had the capacity to carry 14,000 troops and a 400-bed hospital.

The Retirement of America's Flagship

During its glory days, the SS United States was the place to be for Hollywood and anyone who was high profile. Its famous passengers included Bob Hope, Salvador Dali, Rita Hayworth, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and U.S. presidents.

However, the travel industry would face a reckoning in the 1960s with the rise of transatlantic jet travel. As a result, U.S. Lines retired the ship after 17 years of service in 1969. According to the Conservancy, many of the ship’s officers and crew were shocked by the decision. They had left their personal belongings onboard, expecting to go to work the next day, only to find the doors sealed shut.

Although it was retired from passenger service, the SS United States was a reserve ship for the Navy, which ensured that it would still be around. The problem was that nobody knew in what capacity. The ship was hermetically sealed at the berth to prevent its interiors and machinery, remaining in frozen state and ready to be deployed should the Navy need it. It remained that way until 1978, when the Navy sold it.

Over the next few decades, the SS United States had a slew of owners, all of whom initially wanted to return the ship to service but, for some reason or another, never had their plans pan out. In 2010, the Conversancy launched a campaign to raise money to buy and rehabilitate the ship. It succeeded.

The Lawsuit

Throughout its stewardship, the Conversancy has worked to revive the ship and open its doors to the public. In fact, the organization claimed that it had a plan to the SS United States into “a privately funded, world-class, mixed-use destination in New York.” In other words, a mix of hotels, restaurants, and bars

“But the difficulty of securing the planned pier location and unwillingness of government entities to prioritize the project prevented the plan from being launched,” the Conversancy wrote in a recent newsletter.

It didn’t help that the Conversancy was sued in 2022 by Penn Warehousing for refusing to accept a doubling of its daily dockage free to $1,700. As told by the Associated Press, the Conservancy continued to pay its old rate, which led Penn Warehousing to terminate its lease. The Conversancy ultimately reached a court-ordered settlement which required it to leave the pier “in short order.”

The Agreement

The abrupt end to the dispute put the Conversancy into a bind. It wanted to save the ship, but it had little time to do so. To move the ship, it had to get it to another large pier, something that wasn’t easy to do, either.

In this situation, there were two options: scrapping the ship or sinking it to convert it into an artificial reef. Susan Gibbs, the granddaughter of the ship’s designer and the Conversancy’s president, said in August that turning the ship into a reef could be a “poignant” future for the vessel. At the time, though, she discarded the idea.

“But no, that’s not why I spent so much of my life trying to save her,” Gibbs told The New York Times.

In the end, though, it looks like Gibbs didn’t have much of a choice.

"Faced with no options to save the SS United States in her current state and under a binding court order, we were left with the painful but unavoidable choice between scrapping America’s Flagship or converting her into an artificial reef in tandem with a land-based museum,” the Conservancy said. “We chose the latter as the most dignified path.”

The World’s Largest Artificial Reef

The ship’s saviors hail from Okaloosa County, which paid more than $10 million for the SS United States. County officials want to turn the ship into the world’s largest artificial reef, envisioning it as the future jewel of its collection of more than 500 artificial reefs.

They’ve also agreed to give the Conservancy money to open a run a land-based museum for the ship. There are already plans to include one of the ship’s funnels in the museum, as well as original artifacts and artwork.

The next stop for America’s Flagship is Norfolk, Virginia, where it’ll undergo preparations for reefing. The process of cleaning, transporting, and getting the ship ready could take up to a year and a half.

Conservancy board member Thomas Watkins had emotion-filled last words for the SS United States, the Associated Press reported, saying: “you will no longer be neglected and abused.”

“You will be rightly honored, cherished, and loved in a new home and in a new dimension,” Watkins said. “You will no longer be sailing the seas, but you will be surrounded and caressed by them.”

Image | SS United States Conservancy