October 12, 2026
Colleen Claggett/For PhillyVoice
The historic SS United States will be sunk during the second week of November, Okaloosa County, Florida officials say. The ship that spent three decades docked in Philadelphia will be deployed as an artificial reef for diving.
The SS United States, the historic ocean liner that spent decades docked in Philadelphia, will be sent to the ocean floor next month to become an artificial reef.
The ship is scheduled to be sunk during the second week of November, officials in Okaloosa County, Florida said last weekend. An exact date has not yet been determined. Officials said the timeline is weather-dependent and subject to change.
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The Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners said it is working with "safety and security partners" to make sure the sinking is safe, and that more details on the event will be released in the coming weeks. The ship is slated to be sunk 22 nautical miles southwest of Destin-Fort Walton Beach.
"This is an exciting move forward to create a one-of-a-kind resource for the environment and for our tourism industry," the county said in a statement.
The SS United States was docked at Pier 82 in South Philadelphia from 1996 until February 2025. After a legal battle with landlord Penn Warehousing, the ship's conservancy sold the boat to Okaloosa County for $1 million. The county planned to spend $10 million to clean the ocean liner, sink it as an artificial reef for divers and build a museum about the ship's history.
The sinking has been delayed several times. The ship initially was scheduled to be deployed by the end of 2025. Officials said they would livestream the sinking with drones and underwater cameras, and use the footage for a documentary about the ship to be released within two weeks afterward.
Before it could be sunk, the ship was transported to Mobile, Alabama for cleaning and the removal of two of the smokestacks for the museum. However, environmental scientists and preservationists cautioned that the ship is coated in a primer made from zinc chromate, which would pollute the Gulf of Mexico and disrupt the food supply.
That movement was backed by activist Erin Brockovich, who led the 1993 legal case against Pacific Gas & Electric after zinc chromate was found in the California groundwater. Okaloosa County, though, said the project is compliant with Environmental Protection Agency standards.
To ensure environmental suitability, the reefing plan requires approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before the sinking can take place, even though a federal lawsuit from the New York Coalition to Save the SS United States was dismissed in August 2025.
A preservationist group did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether that approval had been received, and a spokesperson for Okaloosa County said they would have "more details later" when asked about the Army Corps approval.
"We are just excited to bring this amazing project to fruition for the environment and diving community," Okaloosa County spokesperson Nick Tomecek told PhillyVoice in an email.
The SS United States set the transatlantic speed record, which it still holds, during its maiden voyage in 1952. It transported many prominent passengers including presidents Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton. Celebrities included Walt Disney, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe and John Wayne.
Another documentary, "Superliner: The Enduring Legacy of the SS United States," is also set for distribution this year. That film, made by the ship's conservancy, will be part of the museum in Okaloosa County. It will be directed by Robert Radler, who has made two other documentaries on the ship, and the score will be written by Doors guitarist Robby Krieger.
