In the conclusion of a years-long legal battle, the SS United States will officially leave Pier 82 in South Philly for Florida, where it will become an artificial reef.
The ship's conservancy and its landlord, Penn Warehousing, agreed to a settlement Friday following a court-ordered mediation. Oskaloosa County will purchase the ship for $10 million, and it will "soon" head to Norfolk, Virginia, for month-long preparations before it's sunk off the state's panhandle for scuba diving and fishing.
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The conflict began when Penn Warehousing increased the daily dockage fee for the ship from $850 to $1,700 in 2021. The conservancy refused to pay, and the landlord ended the lease in March 2022. A judge ruled that the conservancy did not have to pay $290,700 for the difference in docking fees, since there were no provisions for Penn Warehousing to raise the rent, but said the company could terminate the lease agreement at-will. Penn Warehousing initially said the ship had to leave the pier by Sept. 12, but a U.S. District Court held the order while the two parties solved their dispute.
“In the long and storied history of America’s Flagship, these last two years of this unfortunate litigation have perhaps been the most difficult, and the conflict at the pier has drastically impacted our plans for the ship’s long-term future," said Susan Gibbs, president of the conservancy, in a statement.
The SS United States was a luxury cruise liner from 1952 to 1969 and has been docked in the waters at Pier 82 since 1996. The conservancy purchased the ship in 2011 from the Norwegian Cruise Line, who had planned to scrap it. Under the new agreement, the boat will be sunk as a scuba diving and fishing destination as the world's largest artificial reef.
The conservancy said that court proceedings offered a limited time for finding a new home for the ship, and it was unable to find a solution to keep it in its current state. It said the decision to sell to Oskaloosa County was a "painful but unavoidable choice" but "the most dignified path."
"We understand that this decision is deeply challenging and emotional for our community of supporters, as it was for our board of directors, many of whom have been working to save and redevelop the ship for over a decade," Gibbs said. "We are profoundly grateful for the support we have received from across the country and around the world."
After its departure, the conservancy said it plans to create a museum about the ship, incorporating one or both of its funnels, radar mast and the ship's original materials to recreate some of its spaces. The museum will also feature the "latest technology" as well as original artifacts and artwork.
Following the deployment of the S.S. United States and the museum's establishment, Gibbs said that more people can learn about it in one year than they have in the entire time since it left seagoing service.
"Together, we will see the extraordinary story of the SS United States, and her inspiring spirit, continue to endure — above and below the waterline," Gibbs said.