The SS United States Was Deliberately Sunk Off Florida, Becoming the World's Largest Artificial Reef

The SS United States, the retired ocean liner that was once among the fastest passenger ships in the world, was deliberately sunk off the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday to create what officials describe as the world's largest artificial reef, NPR reported.

After hours of a slow descent, the ship disappeared beneath the waves at 10 p.m. Eastern and now rests upright about 180 feet down in the Gulf of Mexico, NPR said. Measuring almost 1,000 feet from bow to stern, it is longer than the Titanic. WCTV reported that the sinking took place about 22 miles off Okaloosa County and that the controlled operation began around 1 p.m.

How a passenger liner became a reef

Okaloosa County bought the ship in 2024 and decided to sink it as a reef, NPR reported. The county hired Coleen Marine, a contractor that specializes in building artificial reefs, because, as NPR put it, it is not easy to sink a vessel designed to stay afloat. Once the hull settles, the ship's rooms, corridors and elevator shafts are expected to become habitat for marine life and a destination for divers. This account does not invent a timeline for when diving will be allowed; local officials will set those rules.

A record-holder, then a long search for a second life

The liner made its maiden voyage in 1952 and won the Blue Riband for the trans-Atlantic speed record, which NPR said it still holds. In wartime it could have been converted to carry 14,000 troops 10,000 miles without refueling, though it was never used that way, according to the SS United States Conservancy. It left service in 1969 after carrying passengers who included Harry Truman, Walt Disney, Marilyn Monroe, Walter Cronkite and a young Bill Clinton, NPR reported. WCTV said it was the largest ocean liner ever built in the United States and had remained docked in Philadelphia until last year.

Susan Gibbs, who chairs the conservancy board and whose grandfather, William Francis Gibbs, designed the ship more than 70 years ago, told NPR's Morning Edition she felt "a combination of grief, that I will be saying goodbye to her in her current form, but, gratitude and hope in terms of what she will continue to give to the world." The conservancy had hoped to turn the ship into a hotel or museum but sold it to Okaloosa County in 2024 after legal and financial issues, NPR reported. WCTV said the county paid millions of dollars; this account does not invent a precise sale price. Coleen O'Malley, president of Coleen Marine, said the contractor did its best to preserve the ship's original design, NPR reported.

What remains above the water

Spectators traveled to the Destin and Fort Walton Beach coast to watch the liner's final hours above the surface, NPR reported. Hodges told WCTV he sailed on the ship with his family in 1964 and 1967, when his stepfather, an Air Force officer, was assigned to Germany. The SS United States Conservancy is planning a museum in Florida in the ship's honor. WCTV interviewed Tallahassee resident Stephen Hodges, who said the ship held decades of memories. The sinking ends the liner's long search for a new life after years of decay at a pier and a transfer to the Gulf Coast county that chose the reef project.