Officials in Florida have pinpointed where they will sink a famous ocean liner that spent nearly three decades docked in Philadelphia. Okaloosa County officials announced Tuesday that the historic liner will be scuttled off the Gulf Coast early next year, creating the world’s largest artificial reef. After being towed south earlier this year, the SS United States now awaits its final voyage. For years, the ship was the subject of repeated failed restoration efforts while docked indefinitely at the Camden Waterfront. With a court order pressuring stewards to relocate the ship, it was sold to the Florida county and later taken to Mobile, Alabama. The ocean liner’s February departure created a spectacle, luring thousands to the shores of the Delaware River to watch the ship pass by. A sinking date was not announced in Okaloosa County’s latest update on the project. Originally, officials expected to scuttle the ocean liner by the end of the year. County officials said it will be sunk about 22 nautical miles southwest of Destin East Pass and 32 nautical miles southeast of Pensacola Pass. The SS United States remains docked in Alabama as workers prepare it for deployment. Okaloosa County purchased the ship last year for about $1 million, part of a roughly $10 million project. The project includes $1. 5 million in contributions from Pensacola tourism officials and Florida’s chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA). Visit Pensacola, a marketing organization for Pensacola, Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key, is contributing $1 million, while the CCA provides the remaining $500,000, Okaloosa officials said. “This collaboration will foster amazing adventures for generations of visitors and create a tourism economy that will benefit the state and the entire Northwest Florida region,” Okaloosa County Board Chairman Paul Mixon said in a statement. “The contributions will be used for the deployment of the SS United States as an artificial reef, with a portion being used for a multi-year marketing campaign to promote the SS United States as a worldwide premier diving destination,” he added.
https://www.nj.com/news/2025/11/thousands-watched-this-ship-leave-philadelphia-it-is-about-to-get-a-surprising-second-life.html
Thousands watched this ship leave Philadelphia. It is about to get a surprising second life.
