The iconic S.S. United States, once a luxury ocean liner and the largest passenger ship built in America, has begun its final journey to become an artificial reef off Florida’s coast. After decades of decay in Philadelphia, the ship will first stop in Mobile, Alabama, for hazardous materials removal before submersion. Established in the early 1950s, the ship ferried four presidents and broke trans-Atlantic speed records, but was retired in 1969 as air travel rose in popularity. While many hoped for its restoration, a federal court ordered its eviction, leading to its current fate, although a museum will preserve its legacy.
The ocean liner that transported four presidents across the Atlantic, welcomed legends like Duke Ellington and Sylvia Plath, and captured the public’s imagination in the mid-20th century has embarked on its final journey. Departing from Philadelphia, where it has been decaying for decades, the vessel, known as the S.S. United States, is now destined for the ocean floor.
Many advocates — including former passengers who sailed on the ship before it largely ceased operations in 1969 — had envisioned a restoration that would allow public access. Instead, it is headed to become the largest artificial reef in the world, situated off the Florida Panhandle.
Before that can happen, the 990-foot-long ship, affectionately dubbed the Big U, will undertake a 14-day journey to Mobile, Alabama. There, crews will extract hazardous materials, including the fuel that remains in its tanks, to ensure a safe sinking. As it can no longer navigate under its own power, five tugboats are tasked with maneuvering it out of the Delaware River and Bay on Wednesday. Once it reaches the open Atlantic, only one tug will be needed to pull it southward.
Constructed in the early 1950s, the United States is recognized as the largest passenger ship ever built in the U.S., exceeding the Titanic’s length by more than 100 feet. Naval architect William Francis Gibbs designed it to serve as a stylish and luxurious ocean liner during peacetime, with the capacity to rapidly escort 14,000 troops during wartime. The ship famously broke the trans-Atlantic speed record on its maiden voyage, completing the eastbound journey in three days, 10 hours, and 40 minutes, averaging over 35 knots.
The S.S. United States made 800 crossings of the Atlantic, serving the affluent and famous alongside immigrants seeking new beginnings and middle-class Americans excited to explore Europe. However, travelers progressively favored the convenience of air travel over the allure of an ocean voyage, leading to the ship’s retirement from service in 1969.
On Friday afternoon, about thirty onlookers gathered behind a chain-link fence in South Philadelphia to witness the commencement of this final journey: relocating the vessel from the pier it has occupied since 1996 to a nearby dock.
The ship’s dilapidated black hull loomed over the industrial waterfront at Pier 82, adjacent to fast-food establishments and an IKEA across South Christopher Columbus Boulevard, as tugboats slowly maneuvered the ship about 100 feet across the slip—a process that took several hours.
Despite its disrepair, the ship had remained a cherished landmark for many locals over the years. Ocean liner aficionados who observed the relocation on Friday, including a truck driver from North Carolina, exchanged fascinating facts about the vessel’s history and power, including the unfulfilled hopes that it could have been utilized during the Korean War. Those with personal ties to the ship traveled from near and far to say their final goodbyes.
For Stephen Kosciesza, 70, who traveled from Silver Spring, Maryland, the S.S. United States represented a new beginning for his parents in its namesake country. His father, a “stateless Polish person” post-World War II, and his mother embarked on the ship in February 1954 as they emigrated from Britain to the United States.
“My father, apparently, was seasick,” Mr. Kosciesza recounted. “The family legend is that throughout the voyage, he kept yelling, ‘Commodore, stop the ship! I’m getting out.’”
Many onlookers on Friday expressed their disappointment that the ship would not be preserved. Devin Harrison, an equipment mechanic and maritime enthusiast from York, Pennsylvania, voiced his relief that the ship wouldn’t be scrapped but lamented that he envisioned a more honorable destiny for it.
“I think it should be a national treasure,” Mr. Harrison stated.
The S.S. United States Conservancy, a nonprofit organization that purchased and began caring for the ship in 2011, echoes that sentiment. The group orchestrated the vessel’s final chapter to ensure its legacy would continue, albeit in a new context.
Once submerged in roughly 180 feet of water off the Gulf Coast, the upper portion of the ship will be approximately 60 feet beneath the surface. Additionally, there are plans for a land-based museum in Okaloosa County, Florida, dedicated to the ship and its storied past, incorporating preserved elements of the vessel, including at least one funnel.
Alex Fogg, chief of natural resources for Destin-Fort Walton Beach, noted that as an artificial reef, the ship will provide a habitat for marine life such as snappers, urchins, and crabs. He predicts it will become a significant attraction for divers from around the globe.
If given more time, conservancy leaders believe the outcome could have differed. Yet, a federal court ordered the ship removed from its Philadelphia pier last summer, initiating a lengthy legal dispute between the conservancy and its landlord.
This triggered a frantic search for both temporary and permanent solutions, as explained by Susan Gibbs, the conservancy’s head and granddaughter of the ship’s designer.
Warren Jones, a board member and former passenger, stated that the group reached out to major ports along the East Coast and some along the West and Gulf Coasts, but every potential docking location was inadequate, whether too small, too shallow, or simply inaccessible for such a massive ship.
The head of the Navy’s Inactive Ships Office informed Mr. Jones that it sought to assist, but available pier space was limited.
As Ms. Gibbs remarked about the ship, “she’s just so darn big.”
Like many fans of the S.S. United States, Linda Silva, 80, feels sorrow over its departure. However, she is grateful for the experiences she had aboard.
She journeyed on the ship for a remarkable trip to Paris before the age of 20. No one in her family had ever undertaken such an adventure, she noted, and the voyage transformed her life, introducing her to new experiences and possibilities.
“It’s not that life is a decline,” Ms. Silva reflected. “It’s just that sometimes your usefulness kind of terminates abruptly, as hers did. Yet that doesn’t diminish the wonderful journey you took to reach that point.”