The famous American ocean liner that once set a world record for ocean crossings is about to set a world record on the very ocean floor.
This month, a series of explosions tore a hole in the former SS America, sinking it about 25 miles (40 kilometers) off the coast of Florida’s Panhandle, creating the world’s largest artificial reef.
When it hits the sand some 180 feet below sea level, the giant ocean liner will become the 21st and largest ship on the Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail, which spans about 150 miles of coastline from Pensacola to Port St. Joe.
The trail, which features a shipwreck dating back to 1942, has been a haven for both marine life and recreational scuba divers since it was officially established in 2012 in an effort to boost tourism in the wake of the devastating 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The sinking will breathe new life into the ship that carried American celebrities and European royalty across the Atlantic, with its hull pockmarked with rust spots and its once-striking black and red exterior paint faded by the sun.
In addition to plans to use the ship as a dive site, the SS United States Conservancy, the nonprofit organization that cared for the ship and preserved its history, plans to eventually build a museum near the dive boarding site in Florida, where visitors can view artifacts from the ship and explore its history. The ship’s two large chimneys have been removed and will become part of the museum.
The SS United States was more than just a luxury liner. The 990-foot-tall ship (bigger than the Titanic) and sea trials with a top speed of 44 mph was also considered a military asset, so when construction began in 1950, the cost of more than $70 million was shared between the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration, the U.S. Navy, and Commercial U.S. Shipping, according to the Naval Historical Foundation.
The ship is designed to be quickly modified for troop transport and can replace the typical passenger capacity of 1,900 to 2,000 with up to 14,000 troops.
And on her maiden voyage in 1952, she crossed the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Europe in just under three days and 11 hours at a speed of about 42 miles per hour. This record remains to this day.
Built primarily of aluminum to save weight, the SS United States was about 10 miles per hour faster than today’s cruise ships, which often had steel structures.
During its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, it was the most prestigious way to cross the Atlantic. Four current, retired, or future U.S. presidents have traveled on this ship: Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Bill Clinton. Its staterooms have been used by international and Hollywood royalty, including Marlon Brando, Sean Connery, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Prince Rainer of Monaco, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Maritime historian Sal Mercogliano called the ship “the culmination of a centuries-long race to conquer the North Atlantic and bridge Europe and North America.”
However, his reign as King of the Atlantic did not last long.
“Its fate was sealed in 1958 with the introduction of commercial jetliners, which replaced ocean liners as the primary means of crossing the Atlantic,” said Mercogliano, a professor at Campbell University in North Carolina.
It was abolished in 1969.
“Her sinking would mean the end of a great ocean liner,” Mercogliano said.
In the years following her decommissioning, the SS United States sat in several Atlantic ports as successive owners decided what to do with the ship. In 2024, the ship faced eviction from the Philadelphia shipyard where it had been held for 30 years, and its owners were forced to choose between selling it for scrap or selling it as an artificial reef.
That’s when Okaloosa County, Florida, stepped in to buy it for $1 million, according to the county’s website.
Last year, after several delays, the ship was towed 1,800 miles from Philadelphia to Mobile, Alabama, where it was cleaned of hazardous materials that could harm the marine environment. Conservation groups say much of the ship’s interior was destroyed before it sailed.
Remarkably, the ship’s hull remains in 90% of its original condition, according to the conservation group’s website.
“The hull was designed similar to battleship specifications and built to withstand the test of time, surpassing today’s cruise ships.”
Marine scientists say this should work, as the bottom of the bay is expected to soon become the center of a thriving ecosystem.
“Fish will begin congregating around the new artificial reef within hours to days,” said Michael Parsons, a marine science professor at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, adding that bacteria and algae will soon make the SS U.S. their home.
According to the dive trail’s website, previous wrecks have been filled with fish such as snapper, grouper, amberjack, angelfish and barracuda, as well as sea urchins and coral.
Scientists say artificial reefs can help protect marine life.
“The open ocean serves as a nursery or collective refuge for some species, especially fish, because having shelter and something to grow on increases their chances of survival,” says Melissa May, associate professor of marine biology at FGCU.
Chris Stallings, a professor of biological oceanography at the University of South Florida in Tampa, said the ship is expected to quickly attract marine life, but the measure of its effectiveness will depend on the reason it was deployed.
“Artificial reefs are tools and are not inherently good or bad solutions. The question is: what ‘problems’ are we trying to solve with artificial reefs?” he asked.
Some may be designed to facilitate fishing, while others may be designed to enrich the entire ecosystem, he said.
Okaloosa County promotes the SS United States as an environmental and economic booster. Mr Stallings said attracting divers to the area and boosting tourism would have benefits beyond the sea.
“Artificial reefs can support recreational fishing, charter fishing operations, dive charter operations, boat and fuel sales, as well as hotels, lodging and restaurants for tourists who visit the area to enjoy reef-related activities,” he said.
According to the Okaloosa County Tourism website, the SS USA’s keel would be at a depth of 180 feet if it were to land vertically on the bay floor, but because of the ship’s size, the upper deck would be only 55 to 60 feet below the surface, making it accessible to recreational divers with open water certification.
Once sunk, the SS United States will be nearly 80 feet taller than its sailing predecessors, including the sunken aircraft carrier, the former USS Oriskany.
“Get ready to explore a record-breaking ship, now repurposed and reborn, and soon to break records in the underwater world,” it reads.
