The historic, aging ocean liner that Okalossa County plans to turn into the world’s largest artificial reef has completed the first leg of its final voyage.
The SS United States, a 1,000-foot vessel that shattered the transatlantic speed record on its maiden voyage in 1952, arrived early Monday in Mobile, Alabama, nearly two weeks after departing from south Philadelphia’s Delaware River.
The ship was due to arrive at a repair facility in Mobile on Monday. Crews will spend about six months cleaning and preparing the ship before it is eventually sunk off the Destin-Fort Walton Beach coast in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).
The 1,800-mile move south started on Feb. 19, about four months after a years-old rent dispute was resolved between the conservancy that oversees the ship and its landlord. Plans to move the vessel last November were delayed over U.S. Coast Guard concerns about whether the ship was stable enough to make the trip.
Officials in Okaloosa County in the Panhandle hope the ship will become a barnacle-encrusted standout among the county’s more than 500 artificial reefs and a signature diving attraction that could generate millions of dollars annually in local tourism spending for scuba shops, charter fishing boats and hotels.
Officials have said the deal to buy the ship could eventually cost more than $10 million.
The SS United States was once considered a beacon of American engineering, doubling as a military vessel that could carry thousands of troops. Its maiden voyage broke the transatlantic speed record in both directions when it reached an average speed of 36 knots, or just over 41 mph,
The SS United States became a reserve ship in 1969 and later bounced between various private owners who hoped to redevelop it. They eventually found their plans too expensive or poorly timed, leaving the vessel looming for years on south Philadelphia’s waterfront.
