This winter, when the famous American ocean liner the SS United States was evicted from her-long-time berth in Philadelphia, her fate to become an artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico appeared sealed. The then owners of the ship, the SS United States Conservancy, had been forced to sell the ship, either for scrap or to become a reef.
Yet, something unexpected happened. The ship had been sold to Okaloosa County, Florida and plans were made to tow the ship to Mobile, Alabama where it would be stripped of all contaminates in preparation for scuttling off the coast. But, as she was towed south from Philadelphia, the United States’ saga and journey went viral.
Thousands of people followed the passage south on an online Garmin tracking map and when she closed the coast of Florida, where she was easily visible from shore, hundreds of curious onlookers lined the beaches to get a glimpse of this once world-famous ship.
Stories appeared in local media and online and soon many Americans who had never heard of the ship came to know that the SS United States is the largest liner ever built in America, is much larger than the Titanic, and that she holds the record for the fastest crossing of the North Atlantic, known as the Blue Riband.
In her day at the height of the Cold War with the USSR and in the aftermath of World War II, the ship was a symbol of America’s might and technical know-how. She was bigger, faster and more beautiful than all the rest. In partnership with the US Defense Department, she was designed to be transformed from a luxury liner into a troop ship that could carry 14,000 soldiers if war broke out. And, she could steam 10,000 miles without refueling.
Now that the SS United States is at a berth in Mobile and undergoing the de-contamination process, a push is being made by a group known as The New York Coalition to Save the SS United States to rescue the ship and turn her into a maritime museum. But it is a race against time, since the ship is scheduled to be towed to sea and scuttled in less than a year’s time.
The Gulf Coast is a tourist destination and authorities in Mobile report that the presence of the ship has drawn significant interest from visitors to the city. A museum or a hotel, similar to the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California and the USS Midway in San Diego, could become a significant attraction and revenue source.
So, the SS United States’ saga continues. We’ll keep you posted.
