Last week, the USS United States was towed out of her berth in Philadelphia, where she has been moored since 1997 and began her last journey to a shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. The greatest ocean liner ever built in America, the majestic ship, now in disrepair, will spend a year being striped and decontaminated before being scuttled off Destin-Fort Walton Beach to become the largest mane-made reef in the world.
The ship is being towed by a mighty ocean-going tug with a 5,600 horsepower engine and shepherded by two assistant tugs. The route took them down Delaware Bay, south to Cape Hatteras and then south-southwest to the tip of Florida where the ship was poised on Thursday to round Florida’s Dry Tortugas islands and turn north for the Gulf Coast. All going well, they should arrive in Mobile on Saturday or Sunday. You can track her progress here.
(Position as of noon on Thursday, February 27)
The ship has been under stewardship of the USS United States Conservancy which raises money to cover the expenses of keeping this famous ship afloat if not in operating condition. After 27 years in Philadelphia, the pier owners decided that the ship was no long a viable tenant and did not renew the lease.
Faced with the enormous expense of relocating and setting up a new facility, the Conservancy decided to partner with the town of Destin-Fort-Walton Beach in Okaloosa County to create an artifial reef in the waters off the areas famous beaches. The area is a destination for fishermen and SCUBA enthusiast so the reef will be a popular attraction. The country paid the Conservancy $10 million for the ship. A shoreside museum dedicated to the United States is also in future plans.
(Passing Palm Beach, Florida)
Built in 1952 during the Cold War, the ship in nearly 1,000 feet long, longer than the Titanic, and was a joint venture between the US Government and her private owners to create a luxury liner that could be converted into a troop ship. In war mode, she could carry 14,000 soldiers and steam 10,000 miles without refueling.
Her top speed of 44 knots is still the fastest of any ocean liner so it is not surprising that she holds the transatlantic crossing record of three days and 10 hours.
While it is sad to see such a beautiful and extraordinary ship go to a watery end, at least she will continue to serve a purpose.
