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The SS United States — the fastest-ever ocean liner to cross the Atlantic Ocean in either direction, which had been docked and inactive in Philadelphia for nearly 30 years — has been given the approvals and timeline for its next and final record voyage — being sunk off the coast of Florida as the world’s largest artificial reef.
“The vessel will be deployed in the Gulf about 22 (nautical miles) southwest of Destin-Fort Walton Beach, the second week of November 2026,” the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners announced Friday.
The deployment is weather-dependent and, as Philadelphians with the multiple dates and attempts to tow the ship out of Philly, weather delays can happen.
After multiple scuppered attempts and a pier shift beginning from November 2024, the ship was moved out of its pier and pulled down the Delaware River on Feb. 19, 2025.
In its heyday, the ship known as “the Big U” and “America’s Flagship” broke the transatlantic speed record in both directions in July 1952, travelling at speeds of more than 38 knots — almost 44 mph! — according to the SS United States Conservancy, the nonprofit that had been taking care of the ship. Its passengers included U.S. presidents and celebrities.
The ship had been docked in Philadelphia as a rusting ghost ship since 1996, with several attempts to restore it or convert it into something that would keep it afloat. None of those efforts panned out and the ship was ordered to leave in 2022 due to a rental dispute.
Okaloosa County purchased the ship from the conservancy for $1 million to turn it into an artificial reef off the coast of Destin-Fort Walton Beach. The ship was towed approximately 1,800 miles down the East Coast from the Delaware waterfront to Mobile, Alabama, where crews removed hazardous materials, dismantled certain superstructure elements and prepared the hull to create a safe and lasting artificial reef habitat.
“Our dive community is really excited,” Jennifer Adams, the tourism director for Okaloosa County, said when the ship was leaving Philly. “We’re just a small fishing village. So to have her, you’ll be able to fish on her, spearfish, explore. And so they’re really, you know, rallying to that.
While being deconstructed in Mobile, the ship still drew plenty of tourist attention.
Plans to sink the vessel in early 2026 had been held up by federal approvals from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency, but that long delay seems to be coming to a close.
Okaloosa County reportedly spent $10 million transporting the ship. The $1 million they paid the SS United States Conservancy, plus funds the conservancy raised while trying to relocate the ship after it was ordered to move, will be put towards a land-based museum in Florida.
A rendering of the future SS United States Museum and Visitor Experience in Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (Courtesy of SS United States Conservancy/Thinc/LMN Architects/Buro Happold) 
A rendering of the future SS United States Museum and Visitor Experience in Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (Courtesy of SS United States Conservancy/Thinc/LMN Architects/Buro Happold)
The ship’s two smoke stacks, both 65 feet tall, about the height of a six-story building — were removed in the remediation process and will be a feature of the SS United States Conservancy’s land-based museum, along with the liner’s propellers, radar mast, a cocktail bar and items and memorabilia from the ship that the conservancy had gathered and preserved over the years.
“By incorporating iconic components from the historic ocean liner into an architecturally stunning, land-based museum, the SS United States will continue to excite and inspire future generations,” said Susan Gibbs, the conservancy’s president and granddaughter of the ship’s designer, William Francis Gibbs.
New York-based museum and exhibit design firm Thinc Design, which has worked on the National September 11 Memorial Museum and the Empire State Building Observatory, is leading the museum design.
The conservancy has been offering fans of the ship chances to pay tribute to the ship and its legacy, and plans to have more events for the “the Big U’s” final deployment. It is also planning to release a new documentary — “Superliner: The Enduring Legacy of the SS United States” — about the ship’s final voyage sometime this year.
