The August 5th joint announcement released by the Conservancy and Crystal Cruises has been covered widely by media sources in the United States and beyond ranging from major print outlets to travel and maritime industry blogs: The New York Times, NY 1, Daily Press, The News Tribune, Portland Press Herald, Newsday, Travel Weekly, Zimbabwe Star, CBS Philly, Philadelphia Business Journal, Curbed Philadelphia, Travel Pulse, Maritime Matters, philly.com, and Cruise Industry News.
Aug 5, 2016 -- A Statement from Conservancy Executive Director Susan Gibbs
Dear Conservancy Supporters:
Today the SS United States Conservancy is sharing with our supporters that our option agreement with Crystal Cruises will not advance. As you know, in February of this year the Conservancy signed an exclusive option agreement with Crystal with the goal of returning the SS United States to seagoing service. Unfortunately, transforming America’s Flagship into a modern, commercial cruise ship in compliance with current international regulations proved too challenging and would have imposed major changes to the ship’s historic design well beyond those initially envisioned.
To our members and supporters from across the country and around the world: we vow to do everything in our power to never “give up the ship.” We remain deeply committed to saving this unique and powerful symbol of the nation’s strength, history, and innovation. Crystal’s comprehensive assessments of the SS United States determined that the vessel remains in remarkably strong structural condition, as the Conservancy has long contended. That means America’s Flagship still has enormous potential as a stationary mixed-use development and museum in New York or another urban waterfront setting. We will immediately resume our aggressive outreach to qualified developers and investors to secure the ship’s future.
During the option period, Crystal’s technical team invested significant resources and conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the vessel. These assessments included: underwater inspections of the hull by divers, examinations of her fuel and salt water ballasting tanks, three-dimensional scans of the entire vessel, preparation of a vessel tow plan, and a series of intensive engineering and technical studies. Crystal has generously provided many of these materials to the Conservancy, and these will be invaluable to us as we advance redevelopment alternatives.
We are also grateful to Crystal for providing a significant $350,000 donation to the Conservancy. Thanks to this contribution – and the continued support from our members – the SS United States is not in immediate danger.
The Conservancy acquired the SS United States five years ago, and together with our generous supporters we saved America’s Flagship from certain destruction. Today more people than ever before are aware of the ship’s plight and potential and they are adamant that we preserve this ship, an iconic national symbol and our sole remaining ocean liner, for generations to come. The next chapter of the SS United States’ story has yet to be written, and I assure you that we are nowhere near ready to turn the final page. We will continue to advance our historic mission, full speed ahead!
The Conservancy was founded in 2004 to educate the public about the historic significance of the SS United States and protect and promote the great liner’s legacy. We are continuing to build our major museum collection and archives to fulfill our curatorial mission. Earlier this year, we announced important acquisitions to our future museum collection, including a rare panel from the ship by artist Charles Tissot and hundreds of artifacts from The Mariners’ Museum of Newport News. Our past partnerships with the Independence Seaport Museum, the Forbes Galleries, and the RMS Queen Mary and our planned collaborations with the Norman Rockwell Museum and the Virginia Museum of Transportation will help us share the ship’s historic legacy with a growing audience.
We are busy planning a national reunion of former crewmembers and passengers (also open to Conservancy members and the public!) to take place in Philadelphia on September 17. Together, we have built a global movement, and while our job is not yet finished, we have a great deal to celebrate. For more information about the event, please click here.
Thanks to you, our dedicated and determined supporters, the SS United States remains afloat today. You are the reason she is still with us. We can’t thank you enough for enabling us to preserve and protect the rich history of America’s Flagship. Together, we will continue to work tirelessly to save the SS United States.
In gratitude for your continued support.
Susan Gibbs
Executive Director
Aug 5, 2016 -- CRYSTAL CRUISES CONCLUDES SS UNITED STATES TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY STUDY
America’s Flagship Found Structurally Sound But Technical Challenges Prevent Her Return to Modern Seagoing Service
SS United States Conservancy Will Continue To Pursue Redevelopment Opportunities
LOS ANGELES, August 5, 2016 – Following an intensive, six-month evaluation, Crystal Cruises today determined that while the SS United States is structurally sound, the technical and commercial challenges associated with returning the historic liner to service as a modern cruise ship have unfortunately proven insurmountable. As a show of support for the vessel, Crystal Cruises will be making a significant donation of $350,000 to aid in the Conservancy’s ongoing mission to save the ship. The Conservancy intends to resume its pursuit of stationary redevelopment opportunities for America’s Flagship.
In February, Crystal and the SS United States Conservancy announced they had entered into an exclusive option agreement with the goal of converting the iconic 1950s-era vessel into a modern, luxury cruise ship that would comply with all modern safety and technical standards – unprecedented for a single vessel refurbishment. Crystal commenced a comprehensive feasibility study and professional evaluation, convening a world-class team of engineers and experts while incurring over $1 million in costs.
“Over the past six months, Crystal has conducted an extensive feasibility study to restore 'America's Flagship' to oceangoing service. Unfortunately, the hurdles that would face us when trying to bring a 65-year-old vessel up to modern safety, design and international regulatory compliance have proven just too great to clear in both a technically and commercially responsible manner,” said Crystal President and CEO Edie Rodriguez.“
While it has been determined that Crystal’s exciting vision for the ship would have required overcoming various technical hurdles and major changes to her historic design, the studies performed have confirmed the ship is structurally sound,” said Susan Gibbs, Executive Director of the SS United States Conservancy. “America’s Flagship continues to hold enormous potential as a stationary mixed-use development and museum in New York or another urban waterfront setting. The SS United States Conservancy remains deeply committed to saving this unique and powerful symbol of the nation’s strength, history, and innovation.”
Led by retired U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Tim Sullivan, Crystal’s impressive team of maritime experts and engineers conducted numerous assessments on the ship in the Port of Philadelphia, where it has been docked for 20 years. The evaluation and testing included in-depth assessments of the ship's structural condition; underwater inspections of the hull by divers; the examination of her fuel and salt water ballasting tanks; and a series of intensive engineering studies to deduce what would be needed to bring her back into service.
Regrettably, the technical feasibility study concluded that while the ship is remarkably intact and structurally sound, modifying the ship for today’s standards for oceangoing service (SOLAS) would require significant changes to the hull that would pose stability challenges. Additionally, the installation of a modern, state-of-the-art diesel electric propulsion plant would have necessitated altering of the existing shaft lines and rebuilding about 25 percent of the hull to reconfigure the ship to a twin shaft-twin rudder arrangement. While it was known that the vessel would need to have been essentially rebuilt from the inside out, these specific challenges, among others, collectively posed significant risk to the success of the project.
"Our company has great affection for this historic and irreplaceable vessel, and we will be making a $350,000 donation which will help support the Conservancy preserve the vessel through the remainder of the year,” said Rodriguez. “We firmly believe the SS United States is an American treasure and deserves to be preserved and redeveloped as a stationary destination for future generations to experience and enjoy.”
The Conservancy will immediately restart its aggressive outreach to qualified developers and investors to secure the ship’s future, while continuing its ongoing mission to educate the public about the legacy of the vessel and building its museum collection and archives. A national reunion of former crewmembers and passengers is planned in Philadelphia on September 17.
“The Conservancy is deeply grateful to Crystal Cruises for recognizing the SS United States’ historic importance and for working so hard on the ship’s behalf,” said Gibbs. “I would also like to thank our members and supporters from across the country and around the world for their continued support. Together we will continue to work tirelessly to save America’s Flagship and honor the legendary liner’s legacy.”
Crystal would like to thank partners and agencies involved in helping complete the feasibility study including: the U.S Coast Guard; Atlantic Logistics; the U.S Environmental Protection Agency; the American Bureau of Shipping; the U.S. Maritime Administration; the Seafarer’s International Union and multiple U.S. Congressional committees. Finally, Crystal urges the public to visit www.SSUSC.org to help the SS United States Conservancy continue its efforts to save America’s Flagship and advance its educational and curatorial programs to honor the nation’s only remaining ocean liner.
About the SS United States Conservancy
A national nonprofit organization, the SS United States Conservancy leads the global effort to save and repurpose America’s Flagship, the SS United States. The Conservancy raises public awareness and financial resources for the maintenance, restoration and ultimate reuse of this iconic vessel and works to ensure that the fastest ocean liner ever to cross the Atlantic remains an inspiration for generations to come. For more information about the SS United States visit www.ssusc.org or on the Conservancy Facebook page.
About Crystal Cruises
Crystal Cruises is the world’s most awarded luxury cruise line, having earned more “World’s Best” accolades than any other cruise line, hotel, or resort in history. Crystal Cruises has won “World’s Best Cruise Ship” in Conde Nast Traveler’s Reader Choice Awards for 22 years; been voted “World’s Best Large Ship Cruise Line” by Travel + Leisure readers for 20 consecutive years; and the “Best Luxury Cruise Line” by Virtuoso for two-consecutive years (2014 & 2015). In summer 2015, Crystal embarked on the most significant brand expansion in the history of luxury travel and hospitality, introducing three new classes of cruising – the recently launched Crystal Yacht Cruises (December 2015), Crystal River Cruises (July 2016), Crystal Exclusive Class Ocean Cruises (late 2018) – and Crystal Luxury Air (March 2016).
Visit crystalcruises.com for more information and join the thousands who follow the Crystal Cruises Facebook page and @crystalcruises on Twitter and Instagram to engage in the conversation with #crystalcruises.