'America's flagship' SS United States has departure from Philadelphia to Florida delayed

The historic ocean liner the SS United States will have to wait a bit longer to embark on its final voyage.

Often called "America's flagship," the SS United States measures at nearly 1,000 feet long and is the longest and largest ocean liner ever built in America. It still holds the speed record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by a passenger liner, an honor earned on its maiden voyage in 1952, according to the SS United States Conservancy, a nonprofit organization that honors the ship's heritage.

The plan for the historic ship is for it to be towed by tugboats to Mobile, Alabama where it will be broken down to serve as an artificial reef. After that 12-month process – where hazardous materials, fuel and other parts that could harm the environment will be removed – it will be towed to the Florida panhandle where it will rest off the state's coast near Destin-Fort Walton Beach.

But the ship's Nov. 15 departure from the Philadelphia port where it has been docked for 28 years has been delayed "because of a tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico that could impede safe delivery of the vessel to its destination in Mobile, Alabama," Okaloosa County, Florida officials said in a press release.

The operation has been delayed "to ensure logistical details and procedures maintain ideal conditions for the move," Okaloosa County spokesman Nick Tomecek said, Delaware Online reported, part of the USA TODAY Network.

A new date has not been set.

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The SS United States: What to know

Developed by shipping operator United States Lines and the U.S. government, the SS United States was part luxury liner – celebrity passengers included Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, Bob Hope and John Wayne – and part secret weapon, the conservancy website says. Built with the help of the Pentagon, the ship could also quickly be converted into a troop carrier.

The SS United States is currently docked on Philadelphia’s Delaware River. The ship has been there since 1996 and can no longer move under her own steam.

Why will the SS United States become a reef?

Okaloosa County, Florida, which includes the cities of Destin and Fort Walton Beach, got the rights to the ocean liner last month to add it to its artificial reef program.

“Once deployed off Destin-Fort Walton Beach, at nearly 1,000-feet long, the SS United States will be a home for a diverse range of marine life and attract divers and anglers from around the world,” Okaloosa County said in press release, reported the Pensacola News Journal, which is part of the USA TODAY Network.

The exact location in the Gulf of Mexico for the vessel’s final resting place has not been set, but it is expected to be about 20 miles south of the Destin-Fort Walton Beach coast, officials said.

While there are benefits to artificial reefs – snorkeling and fishing among them – some sites have led to illegal dumping, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And if what's sunken to make the artificial reef isn't properly broken down, toxic chemicals can leach out, some conservation groups say.

Contributing: Mollye Barrows, Juan Carlos Castillo, Matthew Korfhage, and Shannon Marvel McNaught

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.

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