OMM Newsroom
The “SS United States”, once the world’s fastest ship and longer than the “Titanic”, is set to be sunk off the coast of Florida and converted into the world’s largest artificial ocean reef, according to the BBC.
The liner spent nearly 30 years docked in Philadelphia before being moved to Florida. It is expected to become a habitat for marine life and an underwater attraction for sea enthusiasts.
Campaigners sought to preserve the historic vessel, which crossed the Atlantic hundreds of times, as a museum. After it was bought by a Florida county, plans were made to add it to the dozens of artificial reefs off the coast, while a land-based museum documenting its history is also planned.
From 1952 until its retirement in 1969, the ship carried royalty and celebrities travelling from the United States to Europe. A young Bill Clinton, before becoming president, crossed the Atlantic aboard it. Former presidents Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy also travelled on the vessel.
The ship was moved from Philadelphia to Alabama last year for cleaning and remediation work. On Monday, it began its final journey from Alabama to the coast of Destin, Florida. It is due to be sunk on Wednesday in a precision operation without explosives.
Marlon Brando, Coco Chanel, Duke Ellington, Salvador Dali, Walt Disney, Judy Garland and Cary Grant were among the stars who sailed on the ship.
Before the Florida county bought it, several proposals to give the vessel a second life as a museum or floating hotel fell through. The ship remained at various docks under different owners as legal disputes unfolded.
The “SS United States Conservancy” repeatedly tried to keep the ship above water but was unsuccessful. Its president, Susan Gibbs, whose grandfather helped design the vessel, said she was glad its story would live on.
“[The ship] has always been this unabashedly American symbol that brings so many people together,” Gibbs told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
