Historic ship could soon become the world's largest artificial reef

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A historic ocean liner that once ferried immigrants, Hollywood stars and heads of state may soon find its final resting place at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, after a Florida county inked a tentative deal to turn the ship into the world’s largest artificial reef.

The contract approved Tuesday by officials in Okaloosa County on Florida’s coastal Panhandle is contingent upon the resolution of court-imposed mediation, after a judge ordered the storied but aging ship to vacate its berth at a pier in Philadelphia, following a yearslong dispute over rent and dockage fees.

The largest passenger ship ever built in the U.S., the SS United States shattered a record for the fastest transatlantic crossing by a passenger liner on its maiden voyage in 1952, The Associated Press reported from aboard the vessel.

But the ship has been in a race against time to find a new home, with conservationists scrambling to find an alternative to scrapping the massive ocean liner, which is more than 100 feet (30 meters) longer than the Titanic.

The solution: sink it on purpose and create what supporters hope will be a barnacle-encrusted star in Okaloosa County’s constellation of more than 500 artificial reefs, making it a signature diving attraction that could generate millions of dollars a year in local tourism spending for scuba shops, charter fishing boats and hotels.

“To have an opportunity to have the SS United States right here by our shore is a heritage and a legacy that is generational,” said Okaloosa County Commissioner Mel Ponder. “I’m very excited for not only what it does for the diving community, but also the fishing community, but the community at large.”

The deal to buy the ship, which officials said could cost more than $10 million, could close in a matter of weeks, pending court mediation. The lengthy process of cleaning, transporting and sinking the vessel is expected to take at least 1.5 years.

“The SS United States has inspired millions the world over as a symbol of American pride and excellence,” said Susan Gibbs, president of the SS United States Conservancy, the nonprofit working to preserve the vessel. “Should the ship be converted into an artificial reef, she will become a unique historic attraction above and below the waterline.”

___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.