TALLAHASSEE, Florida — A Florida county is in talks to revive a legendary but outdated ocean liner in a proposed deal that could create the world’s largest artificial reef.
But the plan hit a snag Tuesday after local officials in Okaloosa County on Florida’s coast postponed a vote on a plan to purchase and deliberately sink the SS United States.
The largest passenger ship ever built in the US, the SS United States broke a record for the fastest transatlantic crossing by a passenger ship on her maiden voyage in 1952, The Associated Press reported from aboard the ship.
Now the historical ship is in a race against time to find a new resting place after a court ruled September 12 deadline for the ship to leave its current location at the pier in Philadelphia, after a years-long legal dispute over rent and mooring fees.
Options include scrapping the massive ocean liner — which is more than 100 feet (30 meters) longer than the Titanic — or purposefully sinking it to create an artificial reef. Officials in Florida’s Okaloosa County hope to do just that, sending the SS United States to the bottom of the Gulf to create the world’s largest artificial reef — a diving attraction that advocates hope will millions of dollars a year of local tourist spending on dive shops, charter fishing boats and hotels.
“Most divers are going to be very excited,” said David Bailey, a member of the Emerald Coast Scubaholics dive club. “But any reef program is about more than just diving. … Build the reefs, and you’ll get the fish.”
County officials have been monitoring the boat’s status since 2022, with advocates arguing that the SS United States could be a barnacle-encrusted star in the county’s constellation of more than 500 artificial reefs.
But during a meeting of the Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday, staff requested that the vote on the proposal be postponed until the board’s next meeting on Sept. 17.
“We ran into a problem with the pier operators,” explains County Administrator John Hofstad.
A provincial spokesperson said officials there are actively working with the SS United States Conservancythe group behind the effort to save the ship, but declined to comment further on the status of the proposal.
___ Kate Payne is a staff 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 under-reported issues.