Philadelphia Police Seek Burglars Who Boarded SS United States
Several items are suspected to have been stolen from the famed ocean liner SS United States just days before it departs the Philadelphia pier where it has been docked for nearly 30 years to start a new chapter as an artificial reef.
The Philadelphia Police Department said it is searching for suspects who were caught on camera trespassing and burglarizing the historic ship on October 2. The suspects are said to have gained access to its berth at Pier 82, Christopher Columbus Boulevard, and managed to steal several items.
Though the police have released a video of the burglary incident and are looking for the suspects, they have not managed to establish what was stolen. “The suspects gain access to the SS United States without permission. Approximately three hours later, the suspects were seen exiting the SS United States with several items, without permission,” said the Philadelphia Police Department.
While it is evident from the video that the suspects walked out with items, what is clear is that they are likely to be of less value, considering the famed liner has long since been stripped of all valuable items including artifacts.
A collection of photographs are for instance under the custodian of the Mariners Museum, while the ship’s bell is kept in the clock tower on the campus of Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. Many other items including a large collection of dining room furniture and other memorabilia have been auctioned to various collectors.
The trespassing and burglarizing of SS United States happened just days before the liner departs Philadelphia to Florida where it is set to become an artificial reef. This follows the reaching of a settlement between the SS United States Conservancy and Penn Warehousing & Distribution, the company that controls the Philadelphia pier where the ocean liner has sat for nearly 30 years.
Conceived by one of America’s foremost naval architects, William Francis Gibbs, SS United States was built in the early 1950s as an Atlantic liner. On her maiden voyage in 1952, she shattered the Atlantic speed record and 72 years later remains the fastest passenger liner to have ever crossed the Atlantic.
She operated for just 17 years before the end of U.S. government subsidies, a decision to fly U.S. military and government officials, and the growth of the commercial airlines ended the ship’s career. The U.S. government ultimately took ownership and began seeking a buyer before selling the ship in 1980. Many plans to reuse the ship were proposed, but none came to fruition.