Government Officials Continue to Clash Over Proposed Sinking of Iconic 'SS United States'
- Scott Way
- 5 hours ago
- 4 min read
U.S government officials at multiple levels continue to fight over the planned sinking of the SS United States ocean liner.
The long-running controversy over the future of the historic ocean liner SS United States has erupted once again, with lawmakers, preservationists and local officials battling over plans to the scuttle the ship as the world’s largest artificial reef. The dispute, which has somehow re-ignited despite the inability to utilize the ship since it was retired in 1969, centers on whether the vessel should be scuttled off the Florida Gulf Coast or preserved as a cultural and historical monument.
The ship, launched in 1950 for United States Lines -- an American fleet corporation created to operate German liners seized during and after World War I -- holds two records. One, she is largest ocean liner ever fully constructed in the U.S. at 990 feet (302 m). Two, it is the fastest ocean liner ever built with a Blue-Riband winning trans-Atlantic speed crossing in 1952 with a top speed of 44 mph. United States Lines went bankrupt in 1989 and liquidated its assets by 1992. The SS United States was then decommissioned in 1969 during financial turmoil at the company and was towed to Philadelphia in 1996. Despite efforts to revive the vessel through various fundraising campaigns, she was evicted from her pier in February 2024 and purchased by Okaloosa County, Florida.
It was towed to Mobile, Alabama in summer 2025, to much fanfare, in preparation of its scuttling off the coast of Destin, Florida. Now officials in New York have stepped in to save the vessel from its future as an underwater diving refuge, arguing that a ship with such a legacy to American maritime culture should be used another way. What that may entail, is unclear.
Okaloosa County, Florida — which purchased the vessel in 2024 for $1 million USD — says its pressing forward with its artificial reef project despite the mounting opposition. The county recently approved an additional $2.95 million to its contract with Coleen Marine Inc., bringing the total project cost to around $10.18 million, and officials say the preparation work in Mobile, Alabama, continues.
Florida government leaders argue the artificial reef initiative will generate significant ecological and economic benefits to the region. They also claim it marks a reasonable finale to the legacy of the SS United States, given that it hasn't been in service in 55 years.
According to project documents, the sunken liner will provide a habitat for reef fish and pelagic species while boosting local tourism, particularly for divers and charter fishermen. Officials also say federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, have been overseeing the ship's remediation to ensure it is safe for scuttling.
“This large vessel will help protect those smaller species but also provide an ecosystem” that benefits fishing and tourism, said Nick Tomecek, a spokesman for Okaloosa County. “We certainly understand the passions surrounding the history. She’s a magnificent vessel… but Okaloosa County owns the vessel, and it has been our intent since the beginning to deploy her as the world’s largest reef.”
On the other side, preservation advocates have mounted a campaign. The New York Coalition to Save the SS United States has collected more than 15,000 signatures and won backing from New York City legislators who are pushing for federal intervention. New York City Councilwoman Gale Brewer introduced a symbolic resolution urging Congress and the White House to designate the vessel as a historic site and to fund its restoration as a museum or public attraction. On March 2nd, 2025, the Coalition even filed a federal complaint against Okaloosa County, although it was dismissed by a judge shortly thereafter on August 6th.
“It’s a crazy idea to sink the greatest passenger ship ever built,” said James Kaplan, Co-Founder and Director of the Coalition, at a recent public hearing in New York. Kaplan and his supporters want to see the ship towed to Brooklyn and repurposed into a waterfront attraction.
At a public hearing last week, Alex Fogg, Okaloosa County’s Natural Resources Chief, provided a detailed update on the project prior to requesting additional funds, stating: “As of last week, 80 percent of the ship is completed and ready for final inspections. It’s probably well over 90 percent as of this moment."
According to Fogg, the SS United States is simply too far gone to be turned back into a museum, despite the wishes of New York preservationists. "If we did not approve this and we abandoned the artificial reef project, the only real option would be for the vessel to be scrapped,” Fogg told commissioners. “It’s been dismantled to a point where it’s not going to be a museum anymore. It’s not going to be towed to Miami or other destinations to be a museum.”
Gilma Fields of the SS United States Ocean Liner Preservation Foundation, feels differently: “It grieves me to think that our beloved country, that normally treasures our maritime history of excellence and exceptionalism, could stand by and watch the purposeful destruction of our historic ship and deny intervention to save her," she told the New York Post.
“Without intervention, it will be an unthinkable catastrophe,” she added.
For the time being, it appears Oskaloosa County holds the future of the SS United States. Despite plans to convert her into a museum or waterfront attraction on the East Coast, she is still set to be scuttled in early 2026.
Her final resting place is set for 22 nautical miles (25 mi/41 km) southwest of Destin, 32 nautical miles (37 mi/59 km) southeast of Pensacola, and about 12 nautical miles (14 mi/22 km) from the USS Oriskany, a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier scuttled as an artificial reef in 2004.
