August 31, 2024
Joe Warner; Special to Delaware News Journal/USA TODAY NETWORK
According to reports, retired ocean liner S.S. United States was purchased by Okaloosa County in Florida with the intent of turning the ship into an artificial reef. The ship's conservancy has not confirmed such plans.
Reports claim that the S.S. United States, which currently sits along the Delaware River, was purchased by Okaloosa County in Florida and will be converted into an artificial reef — but the conservatory overseeing the ship denied such plans were final.
Floridian news outlet Get the Coast reported Friday that Okaloosa County officials signed an agreement to purchase the historic ship — which must vacate its current site in South Philly by Sept. 12 — and sink it off the coast of Destin-Fort Walton Beach.
According to the report, the county's board of commissioners will hold a vote on Tuesday to ratify the contract. The cost of acquiring, transporting, remediating and deploying the ship would be $9 million, county documents indicate.
The S.S. United States Conservatory wrote two social media posts later that day acknowledging the reports but said that "multiple discussions" are underway and there are "many unresolved matters."
"... the Conservancy has been in discussions on a range of scenarios for the ship’s future, including proposals to deploy the SS United States as an artificial reef in tandem with a land-based museum," the first social media post read. "Negotiations with Okaloosa County have been advancing positively on a confidential basis."
The post ends by saying it would be "inappropriate" to comment further until Okaloosa County officials considers the contract.
In the second post on the matter, the conservancy addresses concerns from admirers of the ship, saying that the contract with Okaloosa County "remains subject to various contingencies, including a successful negotiation with pier operator Penn Warehousing to extend the ship’s stay beyond the September 12 deadline."
The conservancy says that reefing is "not the preferred scenario" for the S.S. United States but it is a "more dignified outcome."
"We vow to continue to do everything we can to best preserve her legacy each day leading up to the Court-imposed September 12 deadline, and we remain eternally grateful for your support and partnership in our shared mission," the post concludes.
Built and launched in 1952, the S.S. United States is the fastest ocean liner to have crossed the Atlantic Ocean in any direction. The ship halted service in 1969 and it has remained by Philadelphia in the Delaware River since 1996. The conservancy was established in 2009 and purchased the ship in 2011. It attempted to raise $500,000 this summer to relocate the ship.
