Plans Announced for the Last Voyage of Famed Ocean Liner SS United States
Update: On November 12 it was announced the departure date from Philadelphia is being delayed due to potential weather issues in the Gulf of Mexico. A new date has not been announced.
After nearly 30 years on the Philadelphia waterfront, a tentative timeline has been set for the final departure of the once famed ocean liner the ss United States. The last voyage to be accomplished on a towline comes almost 55 years to the day that she was removed from commercial service in 1969.
Okaloosa County, Florida acquired the vessel on October 13 for $1 million from the non-profit SS United States Conservancy with plans to convert the ship into the “World’s Largest Artificial Reef,” off the coast of Florida along the Gulf Coast. It was part of the settlement agreement for the lawsuit from the operators of the Philadelphia pier, Penn Warehousing, with the country required to remove the ship by early December.
Towing the nearly 1,000-foot liner is a complicated plan including removing her from the pier. Her air draft causes additional concerns with officials in Pennsylvania and New Jersey determining to temporarily close the Walt Whitman, Commodore Barry, and Delaware Memorial bridges which span the Delaware River. The US Coast Guard and others are involved in the planning and approval to remove the vessel.
The tentative timeline calls for the vessel to be moved across the slip between Piers 82 and 80 at high tide (11:45 am) on November 14. The United States will stay there overnight waiting for the next low tide (6:59 am) on November 15. Before low tide, the plan calls for positioning the ship in the Delaware River and then commencing the trip under the bridges at low tide and along the Delaware River.
“Federal officials and Moran Towing pilots will be on board the ss United States, with Delaware Bay pilots assisting from ashore. Vinik Marine of New York will handle the ocean tow,” reports the Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners. It is expected diehard fans of the great liner will be along the river as well as those curious to see the ship depart on its final voyage.
The plan for the ship was changed from an original schedule to first go to the Norfolk, Virginia area to move the ship directly to Mobile, Alabama. The board highlights the facility in Mobile will be significantly less expensive and available for the full duration of the remediation and preparation for reefing.
The tow to Mobile is expected to hug the East Coast to avoid ocean currents. It will take approximately 14 days with Okaloosa promising live tracking online with a GPS device installed on the ship. When it reaches Mobile, the ship will have to turn 180 degrees and will be towed astern up the Mobile River to her new berth.
The remediation and preparation are expected to require approximately 12 months and include removing the two iconic funnels and the radar mast, which will go to the Conservancy for its proposed museum. A few other artifacts including the builder’s plaque will be removed for the Conservancy, while the preparation includes removing all the portholes as well as onboard contaminants.
The SS United States Conservancy calls reefing the best option for the vessel. They will use the proceeds from the sale plus $1 million from Okaloosa toward the cost of establishing a permanent museum and visitor center for the ship. It will display the collection of artifacts from the vessel and tell the story of her design and speed record.