Okaloosa County, Florida intends to purchase the SS United States to create an artificial reef along the coast of Destin-Fort Walton Beach. | Photo: Chandra Lampreich

The SS United States is destined to make history again—this time as the world’s largest underwater artificial reef. Under the pending agreement between Okaloosa County, Florida and the SS United States Conservancy, Philly’s “ghost ship” docked on the Delaware River would be relocated to the Florida Gulf Coast and sunk off Destin-Fort Walton Beach to create habitat for marine life. In conjunction with an on-shore museum, the project is designed to honor and preserve the vessel’s legacy. The deal could mark the beginning of the end to the legal wrangling between the Conservancy and its landlord, Penn Warehousing & Distribution, Inc. (PWD), while providing Okaloosa County with substantial economic benefits associated with recreational fishing and scuba diving.

Although Okaloosa County and the Conservancy signed off on a contract late last month, County commissioners have yet to approve the agreement and the $9 million budget allocation. A vote scheduled for September 3 was postponed until the 17th at the request of County administrator John Hofstad, who told commissioners, “There’s been a wrinkle with the pier operators,” and asked that the vote “be pushed two weeks to the next meeting to allow us time to work out the issues.”

“If the SS United States is successfully deployed, it would take over the title of the largest artificial reef in the world,” according to Jennifer Adams, director of Okaloosa County’s tourism development department. “The economic impact of large vessel artificial reefs is substantial and multifaceted, benefiting tourism, the fishing industry, and marine conservation,” she explained. “These reefs generate significant economic activity and provide both direct and indirect benefits to coastal communities.”

While the agreement provides the final missing piece to the county’s five-year artificial reef plan, it also ends the Conservancy’s search for a future for the ship that is both practical and respectful of its historical significance. Designed by William Francis Gibbs and launched in 1951, the SS United States was touted as the most powerful, technologically advanced ship of its kind. On its maiden voyage, the 990-foot long ship crossed the Atlantic Ocean in three days, 12 hours, and 12 minutes at an average speed of more than 34 knots (39 mph), breaking the record for the fastest eastbound crossing by an ocean liner. The ship then turned around and broke the westbound record on the trip home. Both records still stand.

The SS United States was launched in 1951. | Photo courtesy of the SS United States Conservancy

Competition from airlines and other factors led to the SS United States being withdrawn from service in 1969. A succession of owners failed to bring it back to life, and by 2009, then-owner Norwegian Cruise Lines put the vessel up for sale. With the SS United States in danger of being scrapped, the Conservancy stepped in and purchased the ship in 2011. Under the leadership of Gibbs’ granddaughter, Susan Gibbs, the Conservancy envisioned “a future where the SS United States is a sustainable waterfront attraction, providing jobs and important public amenities, while educating and inspiring future generations,” but restoration and redevelopment plans have yet to be funded and implemented.

Meanwhile, the operator of Pier 82, where the SS United States is berthed, has sought to have the ship removed. PWD doubled the docking fee to $1,700 per day, and when the Conservancy did not increase its payments, claimed that the organization was in violation of its 2011 berthing agreement. On March 11, 2022, PWD terminated the vessel’s tenancy and subsequently filed a civil suit in federal court for back pay and removal of the ship from its berth on the Delaware River.

In June of this year, U.S. District Court Judge Anita Brody denied the claim for back pay, but ruled that either party had the right to terminate the berthing agreement, given sufficient notice, and ordered the Conservancy to remove the SS United States from Pier 82 by September 12. “PWD’s claim for monetary damages for breach of contract is without merit,” the judge wrote in her memorandum opinion. “The Conservancy’s failure to pay at the daily rate of $1,700 does not amount to a breach of the berthing agreement or entitle PWD to any damages.” She continued, “I will recognize PWD’s notice of intent to terminate given on March 11, 2022, but will not give effect to the termination on the date set by PWD, as it did not incorporate reasonable notice.”

The Conservancy sought a three-month delay of the September 12 deadline, but last month, Brody denied the request while leaving the door open for an extension if, before the deadline, the organization secures a contract to remove the ship. The contract with Okaloosa County would meet that requirement if certain contingencies are met. These include reaching an agreement with PWD by October 4 to extend the September 12 deadline until the County can move the ship, and the County completing the due diligence it began in August. This consists of securing contracts for fuel tank surveys, fuel disposal, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) surveys, towing logistics, hull inspection, insurance, and any necessary environmental remediation. “However, if it is determined after the due diligence is complete that our costs for remediation are prohibitive, the project will not move forward,” Adams advised the commissioners.

The SS United States has been docked at Pier 82 in South Philadelphia since 1996. | Photo: Michael Bixler

The $9 million deal includes the $1 million sale price, $1 million toward the land-based museum, and the remainder for remediation, transport, and deployment as a reef. It allows the Conservancy to remove certain items of historic interest, such as the builder’s plate, one five-bladed propeller, bridge table, whistle control box, and radar mast.

The Conservancy declined to provide a comment for this article, but posted the following on social media. “We completely understand that the prospect of reefing the SS United States may be challenging to contemplate, [and] reefing is not the Conservancy’s preferred scenario. In an intense and all-hands-on-deck effort to keep the ship safely afloat, we have conducted a massive nationwide search for a new temporary location—a search that has thus far yielded no viable alternatives. With our hand being forced by Penn Warehousing, and scrapping being the only other viable option, we believe reefing is the more dignified outcome.”