Historic US ocean liner reborn as artificial reef

Detailed summary

A majestic and all-but-indestructible 20th century ocean liner that once ferried royal leaders, movie stars and even the 'Mona Lisa' to the United States was being deliberately…

A majestic and all-but-indestructible 20th century ocean liner that once ferried royal leaders, movie stars and even the "Mona Lisa" to the United States was being deliberately sunk yesterday to become the world's largest artificial reef.

Experts were conducting a controlled flooded sink of the 302-metre vessel, a veteran of more than 800 transatlantic crossings in the 1950s and 1960s, that is set to send it to its final resting place on the Gulf of Mexico's sandy floor, some 40 kilometres southwest of Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

"Two of the valves have been opened. The deployment process has started," said an official on the livestream operated by the city.

Florida's Okaloosa County, gambling that such a huge new reef would be a local tourism boom and attract dive and fishing enthusiasts, bought the long-decommissioned SS United States from a conservancy group for $1 million (€896,300) in 2024.

The vessel - longer than the Titanic and the transatlantic speed record holder - will become the centerpiece of Okaloosa's undersea garden of sunken ships, including World War II vessels, tugboats and even a casino boat.

Capt Tim Mullane of Alabama-based maritime company Coleen Marine which led the repurposing, has described it as "a great honour to put this fine vessel to rest... where it's going to serve a second life" promoting marine fauna, diving and fishing.

A year-long process of cleaning the vessel, removing all toxins like fuel, paint and wiring, towing, environmental remediation, safety assurances, and eventual sinking cost roughly $13.5m.

The SS United States, the result of a celebrated feat of mid-century American engineering, made its maiden voyage in 1952.

In its heyday, the luxury liner carried countless celebrities including president John F Kennedy, Former King Edward VIII, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor and Salvador Dali. Future president Bill Clinton travelled on board on his way to study at Oxford.

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