Fate of the SS United States in limbo after Florida county board postpones vote

By Alexandra Simon, Adam Fox and Joe Holden

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    PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (KYW) — The fate of the SS United States remains up in the air after the Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners in Florida postponed a vote on whether the ship will be taken there and sunk off the coast as an artificial reef.

Potentially acquiring the historic ocean liner was on the agenda for Tuesday night’s regular meeting and public budget hearing, though when asked for an update, County Administrator John Hofstad said the county “hit a wrinkle” with their pier operators.

“We would ask that that item be pushed two weeks until the next meeting to allow us time to work out the issues,” Hofstad said.

Okaloosa County’s next budget hearing meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024.

Sources close to the negotiations said preps to move the ship are complicated.

CBS News Philadelphia has been told the SS US is so tall, that it would come within what sources say are “feet” of the Walt Whitman Bridge deck. The navigation would be timed for the lowest tide and meetings about traffic on the bridge and in the shipping channel still have to happen.

Sources also told CBS News Philadelphia the long journey to the Gulf of Mexico would depend on possible storms given hurricane season.

The clock is ticking for the ship to vacate its current home at Pier 82 in South Philadelphia. In August, a federal judge sided with Penn Warehousing and ruled the SS United States can’t stay at the pier past Sept. 12.

Last week, sources told CBS News Philadelphia that the ship could be sunk off of Florida’s northwestern coast as part of an artificial reef.

A spokesperson for the SS United States Conservancy said the organization had conversations with a handful of Florida counties because of the court’s deadline for the ship to leave Philadelphia.

Sources said sinking the ship, once it’s properly converted to meet stringent environmental regulations, is an alternative to outright scrapping the vessel.

When the SS United States hit the high seas in 1952, it was “the most powerful, modern, and advanced passenger liner ever built,” according to the SS United States Conservancy. It crisscrossed the Atlantic for 17 years, carrying presidents, dignitaries and entertainers.

The group has been working to save the SS United States and raise more than $500,000 to help with relocation and other costs.

People stopped by the SS United States, which had been in Philly for almost 30 years, to say farewell on Wednesday.

“I used to work on ships so going past it, I just knew it was time for her to go goodbye,” Bruce Roseman said. “And happy it’s not being scrapped.”

Elijah, a 7-year-old from West Deptford, New Jersey, and SS US enthusiast, made a replica ship and doesn’t believe it’ll be leaving.

“It’s so big and doesn’t have engines to help push itself,” he said.

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