The SS United States, the historic ship that has been docked in South Philadelphia for nearly three decades, is leaving for Mobile, Alabama, where it will be cleaned and prepared to be sunk off the Florida coast.
Tugboats began pulling the ship into the Delaware River channel Wednesday morning in preparation for its 12:51 p.m. departure from Pier 80. The ship must be moved during low tide. It will pass under the under the Walt Whitman, Commodore Barry and Delaware River Memorial bridges, which will be closed as the ship passes beneath them. It will take two weeks for the SS United States to reach Mobile, where it will be prepared to be turned into the world's largest artificial reef.