DESTIN, Fla. The S.S. United States, a former Atlantic speed record holder that carried presidents and Hollywood stars, is scheduled to be sunk Wednesday in the Gulf of Mexico to create the world's largest artificial reef. The $13.5 million project will give the retired ocean liner a new role off the Florida Panhandle after years of efforts to preserve it.
The vessel's planned resting place is about 25 miles southwest of Destin, between Panama City and Pensacola. It will lie in roughly 180 feet of water, with its uppermost deck about 60 feet beneath the surface, allowing visits by inexperienced divers. Organizers hope the reef will bring more diving and fishing visitors to the area and provide habitat for tuna, marlin and swordfish.
Officials advanced the sinking by one day because of concerns about bad weather. Federal rules covering environmental protection and explosives prohibit Okaloosa County and its contractor from using explosives for the operation, according to county spokesperson Nick Tomecek. Instead, opening valves will allow seawater to enter through pipes previously connected to tanks used in the boiler cooling system. Those tanks have been removed, along with more than 400 portholes, and workers have cut openings measuring 10 feet by 10 feet through the decks.
Parts of the ship will be preserved ashore. Its two 65-foot smokestacks have been removed and are intended to anchor a new museum celebrating the liner. David Lawrence, a board member of the S.S. United States Conservancy, said protecting its legacy was central to the effort. “It was our goal to make sure that she wasn’t lost forever,” he said.
More than 3,000 workers built the ship in Virginia during 1950 and 1951. Its maiden voyage in 1952 carried 1,700 passengers, including an Associated Press reporter and Margaret Truman, the daughter of President Harry Truman. The liner averaged almost 41 miles per hour, beating the record established by Britain's R.M.S. Queen Mary in 1938 by 4.5 miles per hour, according to the AP account. It achieved that result despite encountering a gale with winds reaching 69 miles per hour near the journey's end.
Over more than 800 Atlantic crossings, the S.S. United States transported Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, President John F. Kennedy and Britain's former King Edward VIII. Bill Clinton sailed aboard it in 1968 while traveling to Oxford University, long before becoming president. Passengers dined on dishes including caviar, roast duckling, smoked ox tongue and Calf's Head en Tortue.
At 990 feet long, the liner exceeds the Titanic's length by 108 feet. It will also surpass the 911-foot USS Oriskany, an aircraft carrier sunk off Pensacola in 2006 that previously became the largest artificial reef. Tomecek said the two sites are close enough for experienced divers to explore both in one day. About 500 artificial reefs already lie near the planned S.S. United States site.
The liner left service in 1969, and subsequent attempts by a hotel magnate and Norwegian Cruise Lines to put it to use did not succeed. From 1996 until recently, it remained docked in Philadelphia. The reef project will spare it from being scrapped, while the retained pieces will preserve part of its history. “I’m just so happy that we are able to save parts of her,” said Susan Gibbs, granddaughter of the ship's designer.
