November 06, 2024
Joe Warner/Special to Delaware News Journal; USA TODAY NETWORK
Tugboats will begin moving the SS United States out of Pier 82 in a two-day process beginning Nov. 14. The ship will head to Mobile, Alabama, for a cleaning before it's sunk as an artificial reef off the Florida Panhandle.
The SS United States will start leaving its longtime South Philly home on Nov. 14 as it begins its journey to becoming an artificial reef off the Florida Panhandle, Okaloosa County officials said Wednesday.
The county on the Gulf of Mexico said the tentative schedule will start with six tugboats securing themselves to the historic ocean liner, which resides at Pier 82, during high tide at 11:45 a.m. They'll move the ship to the north side of the boat slip and secure it at Pier 80 until the next low tide, which is estimated for 6:59 a.m. on Nov. 15. Before dawn, tugboats will pull the ship into the Delaware Bay.
The Walt Whitman, Commodore Barry and Delaware Memorial bridges will be closed as the SS United States gets towed into the bay. The Department of Transportation will coordinate traffic from the bridge closures, but drivers should avoid the area if possible.
Once the ship reaches the Atlantic Ocean, some of the tugboats will pull away and two or three will take the vessel to Mobile, Alabama, where it will get cleaned. That trip should take about two weeks.
The SS United States Conservancy, which owns the vessel, and Penn Warehousing, the landlord at the South Philly dock where the ship has been stored since 1996, reached a settlement regarding their rent dispute on Oct. 11, and the conservancy agreed to sell the ocean liner to Okaloosa County.
The Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department said it was finally able to set a date after completing all the necessary requirements from local, state and federal agencies to move the ship. The vessel will spend up to a year in Mobile, Alabama, for a thorough cleaning process before it gets sunk off the Gulf Coast. Once it's underwater, the SS United States will overtake the USS Oriskany as the world's largest artificial reef. The ship was originally supposed to go to Norfolk, Virginia, for the cleaning, but the county announced the location change on Oct. 25.
The county will spend $10.1 million to repurpose the SS United States, which still holds the transatlantic speed record that it set on its maiden voyage in 1952. The budget for the reefing project includes $1 million to open a museum with artifacts from the ocean liner.
Seafaring fans can follow the vessel's journey through GPS tracking on Destin-Fort Walton Beach's website.
