Plan to turn SS United States into world's largest artificial reef off Florida hits a snag

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A plan to move the SS United States out of Philadelphia and potentially to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of the Florida panhandle hangs in the balance.

(Video in the player above is from a previous report.)

The worn-out ship is under a contingent contract with Okaloosa County, Florida, to potentially turn it into the world's largest artificial reef in Destin-Fort Walton Beach.

On Tuesday night, the Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners was scheduled to review the proposal, which asks for a $9 million budget, but County Administrator John Hofstad said there was a "wrinkle with pier operators."

Hofstad requested the vote be postponed until the next meeting on Sept. 17 to allow "time to work out the issues."

The massive vessel -- which is over 100 feet longer than the Titanic -- has been court-ordered to move out of a Philadelphia port along the Delaware River, where it has been for nearly 30 years. The ocean liner, which still holds the transatlantic speed record it set more than 70 years ago, must leave its berth by Sept. 12.

It remains unclear how the deadline will impact the delayed vote.

"Okaloosa County is continuing to work with our partners at the SS United States Conservancy and until a deal is finalized it would be inappropriate to make any additional comment," a spokesperson for Okaloosa County told Action News Tuesday night.

We also reached out for comment from the SS United States Conservancy and an attorney for Penn Warehousing, the landlord of the ship, but we have not heard back.

Okaloosa County's tourism division hopes the addition of the ship as an artificial reef would bolster its status as a "premiere fishing destination." Part of the plan could also include a $1 million land-based museum about "America's Flagship" to complement the artificial reef.

However, the SS United States Conservancy, which owns the 1,000-foot vessel, previously posted on social media that "the next chapter of the ship's history is still being written."

"We must emphasize that this proposal remains subject to various contingencies, including a successful negotiation with pier operator Penn Warehousing to extend the ship's stay beyond the September 12 deadline, while the complex logistics of moving and reefing the ship are worked out," the Conservancy posted online.

The group emphasized that reefing the iconic ocean liner is not their preferred scenario and would rather see it stay afloat. Besides finding a new home, the conservancy would also have to obtain funds for insurance, tugs, surveys and dock preparations for a move.

"With our hand being forced by Penn Warehousing, and scrapping being the only other viable option, we believe reefing is the more dignified outcome," the group said, adding that they have not given up on its nationwide search for a new location.

Okaloosa County's artificial reef program includes more than 560 reef sites that not only attract marine life, but also fishers, divers and snorkelers to the Emerald Coast.

Currently, the largest international artificial reef is a short trip over on the panhandle in Pensacola, Florida, where the 888-foot-long USS Oriskany now sits on the Gulf floor.

Years-old rent dispute

The years-old rent dispute between the conservancy and its landlord, Penn Warehousing stemmed from an August 2021 decision to double the ship's daily dockage at Pier 82 to $1,700, an increase the conservancy refused to accept.

When the conservancy continued to pay its previous rate, set in 2011, Penn Warehousing terminated the lease in March 2022.

In August, the U.S. District Court denied the Conservancy's request for a three-month extension at the ship's Philadelphia pier, where it has loomed for years on south Philadelphia's Delaware waterfront.

"The best hope of everyone involved was that the conservancy could successfully repurpose the ship," Craig Mills, an attorney for Penn Warehousing, has previously said about the dispute. "But after decades of decay and delay, it is time to acknowledge the unavoidable and return Pier 82 to productive commercial service."

Christened in 1952, the SS United States was once considered a beacon of American engineering, doubling as a military vessel that could carry thousands of troops. On its maiden voyage in 1952, it shattered the transatlantic speed record in both directions, when it reached an average speed of 36 knots, or just over 41 mph (66 kph), The Associated Press reported from aboard the ship.

On that voyage, the ship crossed the Atlantic in three days, 10 hours and 40 minutes, besting the RMS Queen Mary's time by 10 hours. To this day, the SS United States holds the transatlantic speed record for an ocean liner.

It became a reserve ship in 1969 and later bounced to various private owners who hoped to redevelop it but eventually found their plans to be too expensive or poorly timed.

The Associated Press contributed to this post.