The SS United States, the famous American-made ocean liner destined to become the world’s largest artificial reef, will remain in Philadelphia until Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, after its departure was again delayed. (Joe Warner for nj.com/TNS)
(Tribune News Service) — The SS United States, the famous American-made ocean liner destined to become the world’s largest artificial reef, will remain in Philadelphia one more day after its departure was again delayed.
High winds in the region caused officials to twice delay the departure to Wednesday, when the ship is expected to begin its journey down the Delaware River around 12:51 p.m., said Okaloosa County, who purchased the shiplast year.
This is the second delay this week caused by strong winds, which are a result of high and low pressure systems in different parts of the country. The ship was initially set to leave on Monday from its dock in South Philadelphia after having been delayed since December.
Plans call for the Walt Whitman and Commodore Barry bridges to be closed to traffic while the ship passes beneath, minimizing “driver distraction” of the vessel. The ship will also pass under the Delaware Memorial Bridge before heading out to sea, where it will sail for about two weeks to Mobile, Alabama.
The Walt Whitman Bridge will temporarily close to traffic between 12:45 p.m. and 1 p.m., and a similar pause on the Commodore Barry Bridge is expected between 4:45 p.m. and 5:45 p.m., said the Delaware River Port Authority, which manages both spans.
Okaloosa County, Fla., purchased the ship from the SS United States Conservancy, a collection of stakeholders who saved the ship from being scrapped in 2011. After failed restoration attempts and a lawsuit that saw a court order to depart its dock at Pier 82, the ship was sold to spare it from the scrapyard.
It will be sunk in the Gulf of Mexico, which was recently renamed “Gulf of America” by President Donald Trump, becoming the world’s largest artificial reef for divers.
The process for the ship to leave began Friday, when a set of tugboats nudged the ship to Pier 80, an adjacent dock in the South Philadelphia shipyards.
The SS United States was once considered the pride of America’s shipbuilding industry. It earned a record for the fastest trip across the Atlantic Ocean.
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