July 23, 2024
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
The SS United States is docked at Pier 82 in South Philadelphia but must leave by Sept. 12. Members of a marine committee in Florida think it could serve as an artificial reef diving attraction.
As the SS United States searches for a new dock ahead of its September eviction, a Florida county committee is offering it a home — albeit at the bottom of the ocean.
The Pensacola News Journal reported Monday that some members of a local marine committee were interested in buying and sinking the retired ocean liner off the Gulf Coast. There it would serve as an artificial reef diving attraction, and it wouldn't be alone. It would join the USS Oriskany, the naval warship sunk off the Florida coast in 2006.
Kerry Freeland, a chairman on the marine advisory committee for Escambia County, told the newspaper that another sunken ship would boost tourism in the area. He and others are rallying for public and county support.
"Right now, we're kind of like a one-trick pony," he said of the area's USS Oriskany attraction. "... We don't have the sizzle that the shipwrecks bring, so we’ve been asking marine resources to find us a large wreck. Well, they did, the SS United States."
The conservancy in charge of the SS United States has been scrambling to find it a new home since a judge ordered the ship to leave its port in South Philadelphia by Sept. 12. The ship, which has been docked at Pier 82 since 1996, has no landlord beyond that deadline. But the conservancy isn't totally sold on the Pensacola plan.
"Our highest priority remains locating a safe temporary or permanent location for the ship and ultimately her redevelopment as a dynamic stationary, mixed-use destination," the conservancy said in a statement. "While converting the vessel into an underwater, artificial reef is clearly not our first choice for the future of America's Flagship, it presents several advantages over scrapping the vessel, including the retention of her economic and tourism potential for those willing to invest in such a scenario.
"These plans could also encompass the Conservancy's land-based museum that would educate the public about the ship's historical importance. As the Conservancy continues its exhaustive search for possible berths for the ship, we are open to exploring the prospect of reefing as a fallback scenario."
The SS United States' housing woes stem from a rent dispute with its landlord, Penn Warehousing. The two parties landed in court after the conservancy refused to pay a rent hike and Penn Warehousing subsequently ended its lease. A judge ruled in June that, while the conservancy did not owe its landlord any back rent, the lease termination was valid. It gave the conservancy 90 days to find a new dock.
The conservancy has been crowdfunding $500,000 in an effort to secure a new home for the retired passenger ship, which beat the transatlantic speed record in 1952. It also filed a motion in court requesting an extension on its eviction date. The conservancy is asking for a new deadline of Dec. 5.
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