The SS United States, America’s Flagship, arrived in Mobile, Alabama today after an approximately 1,800-mile tow from her berth in Philadelphia. The iconic national symbol and last surviving American ocean liner will now undergo preparations for her deployment as the “World’s Largest Artificial Reef” off Florida’s Gulf Coast near Destin-Fort Walton Beach.
“Today, the nation’s sole surviving ocean liner will glide down the Delaware River to begin the next chapter in her uniquely American story. As the fastest ship to ever cross the Atlantic travels for the first time since arriving in Philadelphia in 1996, we are reminded of the postwar high-water mark that the SS United States so gracefully and powerfully embodied when she was launched in 1951.”
The SS United States in South Philly issues an SOS for a new home by September. After a dispute, stewards have 90 days to find a berth or face possible scrapping. We talk with Susan Gibbs, president and co-founder of the SS United States Conservancy and granddaughter of William Francis Gibbs, the ships’ designer.
