Historic SS United States to be intentionally sunk off Florida coast as artificial reef

The SS United States, a historic ocean liner, is scheduled to be intentionally sunk Wednesday off the Florida Panhandle, creating what officials call the world’s largest artificial reef. The vessel was stripped of equipment, including seawater tanks, portholes and smokestacks, to meet environmental standards, and will be flooded by opening valves rather than using explosives, according to Okaloosa County spokesperson Nick Tomecek. The ship will settle in about 180 feet of water, with its top deck roughly 60 feet below the surface, making it accessible to divers.

The sinking follows a failed legal effort by the SS U.S. Conservancy, which had sought to halt the project on grounds that federal regulators had not fully reviewed environmental and historic-preservation impacts. A federal judge denied the conservancy’s emergency restraining order.

Supporters gathered along the shoreline and on boats to witness the event. Action News reporter John Paul noted overcast but decent weather on the day of the sinking, which had been moved up a day due to earlier weather concerns.

Warren Jones of the SS U.S. Conservancy said the organization had hoped to repurpose the ship for mixed-use development, but expressed relief that the vessel will not be scrapped. Susan Gibbs, granddaughter of the ship’s designer William Francis Gibbs, said the ship’s legacy will endure in its new underwater setting.