SS United States starts last voyage to its final destination – at the bottom of the Gulf
The long-retired SS United States, the fastest ocean liner ever to cross the Atlantic, left the Delaware Bay on Thursday for its final voyage, after having been anchored to a Philadelphia dock for more than three decades.
Despite recent rallying calls urging President Donald Trump to save “America’s Flagship” vessel, the larger-than-the Titanic ship will soon meet its watery grave.
Tugboats are currently steering it down the Atlantic Ocean on a two-week trip to Mobile, Alabama, where it will be cleaned and renovated for a second life as the world’s largest artificial reef off Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Here's the latest on the SS United States' journey south.
Where is the SS United States going?
The SS United States, a technological marvel when it hit the water in 1952 and broke the transatlantic speed record, left Philadelphia Wednesday to begin its journey south to Mobile, Alabama and then, eventually, off the coast of Okaloosa County, Florida.
Officials in Okaloosa County bought the SS United States from the SS United States Conservancy last year. The grand ocean liner — over 100 feet longer than the Titanic — will be purposely sunk off the coast of Florida, where it will turn into the "world's largest artificial reef," according to the Destin-Fort Walton Beach tourism website.
The initial part of the journey to Alabama is set to take about two weeks. The ship’s engines are no longer operable, and it is instead being guided by four tugboats along the coast.
The tugboats are expected to deliver the ship to a company called Modern American Recycling Services that specializes in vessel salvage. There, workers will remove contaminants from the ship and prepare it to be sunk. The process is slated to take about a year.
Okaloosa County officials aren’t yet sure where the ship’s final resting place will be. It’s expected to lie about 20 nautical miles south of the Florida Panhandle region in the Destin-Fort Walton Beach area, according to the Pensacola News Journal, part of the Paste BN Network.
Florida officials are also planning to build a museum on land for the ship. The underwater ship will be turned into an "immersive experience" for divers, according to the website.
SS United States history
Some of America’s most rich and famous, from presidents to movie stars, sailed to Europe on the ocean liner while it was in service between 1952 and 1969. Some of those famous passengers included Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Sean Connery and Walt Disney. The ship also carried four U.S. presidents, including Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Bill Clinton.
The SS United States was taken out of service in November 1969 as more travelers took to the air and its owner, United States Lines, lost money. The ship was sold multiple times between the late 1970s and early 2000s to scores of owners who tried and failed to redevelop it into various tourist attractions.
It was finally sold to Okaloosa County in 2024.
SS United States ship tracker
You can follow along with the ship's journey using this tracker on the Destin-Fort Walton Beach website.
The SS United States Conservancy, a nonprofit that previously owned the ship, was livestreaming the ship's voyage on Wednesday. View it leaving Philadelphia here.
Contributing: George Petras and Jennifer Borresen, Paste BN