Historic ocean liner could soon become the world’s largest artificial reef

PHILADELPHIA — The conservancy that oversees a storied but aging ocean liner and its landlord have resolved a years-old rent dispute that will clear the way for a Florida county to turn the historic ship into the world’s largest artificial reef.

A federal judge had ruled in June that the SS United States Conservancy had until Sept. 12 to present plans to move the ship, a 1,000-foot ocean liner that still holds the transatlantic speed record it set more than 70 years ago. That deadline, though, came and went after the conservancy filed a lawsuit that accused Penn Warehousing of sabotaging its efforts to sell the vessel.

The conservancy had reached a tentative agreement earlier this month with Okaloosa County on Florida’s coastal Panhandle, a deal that was contingent upon the rent dispute being settled through court-imposed mediation. The deal resolving that dispute was announced Friday.

Conservancy and county officials gathered Saturday at the Philadelphia pier where the ship is berthed for a small transfer of title ceremony, although the deal with Okaloosa County still needs final approval from a federal judge, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Okaloosa officials plan to sink the ship and create what supporters hope will be a barnacle-encrusted star in the county’s constellation of more than 500 artificial reefs, making it a signature diving attraction that could generate millions of dollars a year in local tourism spending for scuba shops, charter fishing boats and hotels.

“We can tell you that you will not be lost, you will not be forgotten, you will no longer be neglected and abused,” conservancy board member Thomas Watkins said in a farewell to the ship. “You will be rightly honored, cherished, and loved in a new home and in a new dimension. You will no longer be sailing the seas, but you will be surrounded and caressed by them.”

Officials have said the deal to buy the ship could cost more than $10 million. The lengthy process of cleaning, transporting and sinking the vessel is expected to take at least 1.5 years.

The rent dispute stemmed from an August 2021 decision by Penn Warehousing to double the ship’s daily dockage to $1,700, an increase the conservancy refused to accept. The firm had said through its attorneys that it wants to regain access to the berth so it can replace the ship with a commercial customer that will provide jobs and tax revenues to the city.

When the conservancy continued to pay its previous rate, set in 2011, Penn Warehousing terminated the lease in March 2022. After much legal wrangling, U.S. District Judge Anita B. Brody held a bench trial in January but also encouraged the two sides to reach a settlement instead of leaving it up to her.

She ultimately ruled that the conservancy’s failure to pay the new rate did not amount to a contract breach or entitle Penn Warehousing to damages. However, she found that under Pennsylvania contract law, the berthing agreement is terminable at will with reasonable notice.

Christened in 1952, the SS United States was once considered a beacon of American engineering, doubling as a military vessel that could carry thousands of troops. On its maiden voyage in 1952, it shattered the transatlantic speed record in both directions, when it reached an average speed of 36 knots, or just over 41 mph (66 kph), The Associated Press reported from aboard the ship.

On that voyage, the ship crossed the Atlantic in three days, 10 hours and 40 minutes, besting the RMS Queen Mary’s time by 10 hours. To this day, the SS United States holds the transatlantic speed record for an ocean liner.

The SS United States became a reserve ship in 1969 and later bounced to various private owners who hoped to redevelop it. But they eventually found their plans to be too expensive or poorly timed, leaving the vessel looming for years on south Philadelphia’s Delaware River waterfront.