The SS United States, the historic ocean liner set to become an artificial reef off the Florida coast, won't leave South Philadelphia on Friday.
The ship's departure has been delayed to "ensure logistical details and procedures maintain ideal conditions for the move," officials in Okaloosa County, Florida said Tuesday. County officials also said they are monitoring a tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico that "could impede safe delivery of the vessel to its destination." A new date has not been set.
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Okaloosa County, located in Florida's panhandle, purchased the ship from the SS United States Conservancy earlier this fall. The boat, which has been docked at Pier 82 in South Philly since 1996, will be towed by multiple tugboats to Mobile, Alabama, where it will be cleaned and prepared to be sunk.
"The County understands that there is considerable interest in the SS United States and her move from Pier 82 and that plans have been made by interested parties," county officials said in a statement. "Like most large, multi-faceted operations, this move involves coordination with multiple agencies and dates, times, and other logistics are subject to change to make certain the vessel is moved safely."
The delayed departure will not interrupt a ticketed event the conservancy and Philadelphia City Cruises had planned for Thursday. That event will give people a close view of the ship from the water.
In October, the conservancy and Penn Warehousing, the landlord of Pier 82, reached a settlement that allowed the conservancy to sell the vessel to Okaloosa County, ending years of legal battles.
The county is spending $10.1 million to repurpose the ship, which carried four presidents and various celebrities over the years and still holds the transatlantic speed record it set on its maiden voyage in 1952.
The ocean liner will spend a year in Alabama before being sunk off Florida's Destin-Fort Walton Beach. It is set to become the world's largest artificial reef, overtaking the USS Oriskany. The reefing project includes $1 million to open a museum with artifacts from the ship.