The SS United States’ move from Philly has been delayed
Officials from Okaloosa County said the delay is so they can “ensure logistical details and procedures maintain ideal conditions for the move.”
The SS United States, the luxury ocean liner that still holds the transatlantic speed record, will not be heading to Mobile, Ala., this week as initially planned, according to its new Florida owners who plan to sink the ship and turn it into a tourist destination.
Officials from Okaloosa County said the delay is so they can “ensure logistical details and procedures maintain ideal conditions for the move.”
They are also monitoring a “tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico that could impede safe delivery of the vessel to its destination” in Alabama, where it is supposed to spend a year undergoing environmental remediation before retiring in the Florida Panhandle.
Moving a 990-foot ship incapable of self-propulsion requires cooperation from local, state, and federal agencies, including the Delaware River Port Authority and the U.S. Coast Guard. The parties had planned for a two-day operation to get the vessel on its two-week journey to Mobile. The ship was supposed to move from its current berth on Pier 82 to neighboring Pier 80 on Thursday. The ship would then move during low tide early Friday morning to make its way to the Atlantic Ocean.
There is no rain date for the move, according to the ship’s new owners.
Whenever the ship does depart, it will have to go under the Walt Whitman, Commodore Barry, and Delaware Memorial Bridges, according to Okaloosa County.
DRPA spokesperson Mike Williams has said traffic would likely have to be temporarily halted on the Walt Whitman and Commodore Barry to allow the vessel to pass safely underneath and to minimize driver distractions.
The ship has been in South Philadelphia for close to 30 years, drawing supporters and critics as its future remained in perpetual limbo. It wasn’t until a landlord dispute pitted the SS United States Conservancy, the vessel’s stewards, and Pier 82 in court that a move was forced.
Left with few options, the conservancy opted to sell the ship to Okaloosa County as opposed to taking the ship to the scrap heap.
The conservancy, which sold the ship in October, has said that sinking the vessel was not its first choice, but that it beats the alternative.
Okaloosa County officials said they are committed to preserving the ship’s history and are working with the conservancy to build a museum.
People will be able to track the ship’s journey, whenever that may be, through an Okaloosa County website.