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The date for the SS United States’ final voyage has finally been set for Thursday, Nov. 12, along with the events planned to commemorate its final transformation into the world’s largest artificial reef off the coast of Florida.
“This will be a historic day for Destin-Fort Walton Beach and for a ship with such a historic story,” said Okaloosa County Board Chairman Trey Goodwin. “Her story will continue to be told by thousands of people who visit her in tandem with the SS United States Conservancy’s land-based museum.”
The ship will be deployed about 22 nautical miles southwest of Destin-Fort Walton Beach — 30° 07.148′ N, 86° 46.755′ W to be specific.
The voyage will begin at 10 a.m. and will be live-streamed on the county’s web page for the ship. The deployment is weather-dependent and, as many will remember with the efforts to get the ship out of Philly, the weather can be uncooperative.
The final approvals to deploy the vessel, which has spent the past year in Mobile, Alabama, getting prepared for its eventual sinking, from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency were given earlier this month, after delays during the year.
Before that, the vessel had been docked and inactive in Philadelphia for nearly 30 years. Several attempts to restore the rusting ghost ship into something that would keep it afloat failed to come to fruition and it was ordered to leave its Delaware River dock in 2022 due to a rental dispute.
The ocean-liner known as “the Big U” and “America’s Flagship” was the creation of renowned naval architect and Philadelphian William Francis Gibbs. Its passengers included U.S. presidents and celebrities. It 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.
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. After multiple stalled 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.
The ship was towed approximately 1,800 miles down the East Coast from the Delaware waterfront to Mobile, where crews removed hazardous materials, dismantled certain superstructure elements and prepared the hull to create a safe and lasting artificial reef habitat. While being deconstructed in Mobile, the ship still drew plenty of tourist attention.
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.
“While this transition is difficult for many of us, we know that some wish to witness this pivotal moment in the SS United States’ history as the conservancy advances plans for a museum to celebrate America’s Flagship,” the conservancy wrote in a social media post.
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 day before the deployment, Okaloosa County plans to host a public send-off ceremony at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Convention Center. Later that afternoon, the conservancy said it will reveal the location for the land-based museum and provide more details about the space.
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 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. New York-based museum and exhibit design firm Thinc Design is leading the museum design.
For those who want to head down to Florida to see the ship off, there will be a live viewing party at AJ’s Seafood and Oyster Bar in Destin, from 9 a.m., with a large outdoor screen playing the livestream.
The county expects that hundreds of vessels will potentially be out on the water to see the boat off.
