SS United States to Be Sunk Off Florida in Second Week of November as World's Largest Artificial Reef
Okaloosa County, Florida, announced that the historic ocean liner SS United States is expected to be sunk in the Gulf of Mexico during the second week of November, about 22 nautical miles southwest of Destin, becoming the world's largest artificial reef. The exact date has not been set and will depend on weather and other conditions.
"This is an exciting move forward to create a one-of-a-kind resource for the environment and for our tourism industry," the county's Board of Commissioners said in an October 9 statement. Environmental remediation and preparation work on the vessel is complete, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued its final approval for the deployment. Nearly 1,000 feet (305 meters) long, the SS United States broke the transatlantic speed record on her maiden voyage in 1952 and still holds it.
The roughly 45,000-ton liner retired in 1969 and spent nearly three decades docked in Philadelphia. Okaloosa County bought the ship from the SS United States Conservancy in 2024 and towed it to Mobile, Alabama, in March 2025 for cleanup and preparation. Once on the seabed, she will join more than 500 artificial reefs in the region; the county expects the site to become a major attraction for divers and anglers and a significant source of tourism revenue for local businesses. The Conservancy is separately planning a land-based museum featuring the ship's funnels, radar mast and other salvaged components.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：停泊在阿拉巴马州 Mobile 的合众国号邮轮，船首可见「UNITED STATES」字样。照片：Brian Snelson，CC BY-SA 4.0，经维基共享资源。 / The SS United States moored in Mobile, Alabama. Photo: Brian Snelson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
