How one tugboat pulled the SS United States to Alabama, through extreme winds and 16-foot waves

It was quite the scene to behold: A 990-foot shell of an ocean liner incapable of self-propulsion was essentially dragged by a vessel a fraction of its size from Philadelphia to Mobile, Ala., in less than two weeks.

Photos of the SS United States being pulled by a 140-foot tugboat prompted many to ask how the move was even possible.

Turns out, it’s all in the horsepower, some clever navigation, and beating bad weather, according to tugboat captain and self-described SS United States pallbearer Mike Vinik.

“It was an honor being sort of the last captain to take the ship in,” he said of the SS United States’ first trip in almost 30 years and its 401st.

While a “modern supercar” will boast more than 500 horsepower, the tugboat Vinik #6 (Captain Vinik shares his last name with a handful of his vessels) has 5,750 horsepower, he said. Though it’s not uncommon for modern tractor tugs to have 5,000 horsepower, Vinik said, they are typically 80 to 100 feet long, making Vinik #6 something of a rarity along the East Coast, well-suited for handling inclement weather offshore.

Based in Keyport, a borough in New Jersey’s Monmouth County, Vinik landed the 1,800-mile gig almost by chance. He happens to have a good working relationship with some of the people hired to perform the mandated environmental remediation before the ship makes its final trip to the Florida Panhandle, where it will be sunk 20 nautical miles south of Destin-Fort Walton Beach.

Though bright sunny photos of the SS United States passing South Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., went viral for their breathtaking beauty, the journey was not all smooth sailing.

As predicted, Vinik said, the crew of seven with two pilots entered inclement weather two days after leaving Philly. One of the challenges with this job was that Vinik #6 would not have any port of refuge between Philadelphia and Alabama. So when the travelers experienced winds of 45 knots and waves ranging 14 to 16 feet, they had no place to go, and their only choice was to slow down.

“We were making between 6 and 7 knots unobstructed, and once we got into the bad weather, we just slowed down to 3½ knots and went as slow as possible so we could maintain our course,” Vinik said.

Once they made it into the Gulf Stream — a warm current from Florida and the Gulf of Mexico — the crew faced fog, sea smoke, and countless waterspouts, also known as tornadoes that form on the water.

As the tugboat and its charge neared their destination, a storm surge was expected for Tuesday, which would have made it too windy to tow the ship into its designated harbor in Mobile. If Vinik #6 couldn’t beat the storm, it would have to “do circles” in the Gulf of Mexico until the weather cleared, which Vinik said was not an option.

So they picked up speed. By early Monday, the crew was traveling up to 10 knots through the gulf to make it to Mobile that afternoon.

Vinik remained in Mobile on Tuesday to see the storm system pass and ensure the SS United States did not break free from its dock.

The son of a tugboat captain, Vinik grew up listening to sea stories and sailing. He would go on to graduate from SUNY Maritime College, which happens to be the school all previous SS United States permanent captains graduated from.

During the next several months at Modern American Recycling Services in Mobile, the SS United States will be stripped of all nonmetal items, wiring, and fuel. Some holes are also to be cut throughout the body to make sure it lands upright when finally sunk.

The SS United States is slated to join more than a dozen ships Okaloosa County has sunk in recent years as part of a tourism push to attract divers. Tourism officials hope to deploy the SS United States before year’s end.