The SS United States—the legendary 990-foot ocean liner that holds the transatlantic speed record set in 1952—is being scuttled off Florida’s Panhandle near Destin to create the world’s largest artificial reef.
Due to incoming severe weather, officials moved up deployment operations.
Key Details & Background
- Location: Deployed approximately 25 miles southwest of Destin in the Gulf of Mexico, sitting near another famous scuttled vessel, the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany.
- Depth & Accessibility: The ship will settle on the seafloor in 180 feet of water. However, because the structure stands so tall, the upper decks sit roughly 60 feet below the surface, making it accessible to novice recreational divers as well as experienced technical divers.
- Preparation: Following decades of storage along a Philadelphia pier, the ship was purchased by Okaloosa County for $13 million (funded via tourism tax dollars) to prevent it from being sold as scrap. Over the past year in Mobile, Alabama, crews stripped all hazardous materials, fuel, wiring, and portholes, and strategically cut 10-foot-by-10-foot holes in the decks to allow sea water to flood the hull naturally without needing explosives.
- Preserved History: The liner’s iconic twin 65-foot red, white, and blue smokestacks were removed prior to scuttling and will be featured at a land-based museum in Destin-Fort Walton Beach.
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