The SS United States concluded its descent at 10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, coming to rest upright on the seafloor of the Gulf of Mexico. Okaloosa County acquired the vessel in 2024 after legal and financial hurdles prevented the SS United States Conservancy from converting it into a museum or hotel. Marine engineering firm Coleen Marine spent over 18 months meticulously preparing the ship to ensure it settled evenly without rolling during the sink.
Key points
The sunken passenger liner will now function as a thriving marine habitat and an attracti…: The sunken passenger liner will now function as a thriving marine habitat and an attraction for deep-sea divers.
Designed to convert into a troop transport for 14,000 soldiers, the ship carried prominen…: Designed to convert into a troop transport for 14,000 soldiers, the ship carried prominent figures like Marilyn Monroe before retiring in 1969.
The SS United States Conservancy intends to establish a land-based museum in Florida to p…: The SS United States Conservancy intends to establish a land-based museum in Florida to preserve and celebrate the liner's legacy.
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A giant ship sunk off the coast of Florida yesterday—and the coast guard didn't do a thing to stop it.
The SS United States is a retired ocean liner that was deliberately sunk on Wednesday to create the world's largest artificial reef. After hours of slow descent, it finally disappeared beneath the waves at 10 p.m. ET last night. It now rests 180 feet beneath the surface at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico in an upright position.
Measuring almost 1,000 feet from bow to stern, the giant ship is longer than the Titanic. After it's settled on the ocean floor, the ship's hundreds of rooms, corridors and elevator shafts will become a deep-sea playground for divers, fish and other aquatic life.
This transformation gives the SS United States the opportunity for a second life and a new species of passenger.
Susan Gibbs has mixed feelings about the ship's final voyage to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. She chairs the board of the SS United States Conservancy, and her grandfather, William Francis Gibbs, designed the ship more…
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