December 25, 2025
Colleen Claggett/For PhillyVoice
The SS United States, a retired ocean liner, left its longtime home of Philadelphia in February. The ship was sold and is set to be turned into an artificial reef off the coast of Florida.
A longtime Philadelphia resident left the city for good in 2025.
After months of delays due to weather conditions, the SS United States sailed away from its home on the Delaware River on Feb. 19. Multiple tugboats pulled the retired ocean liner on a two-week journey to Alabama, catching the eyes of folks along the East Coast. There, it was set to be cleaned and dismantled to become an artificial reef off the coast of Florida.
The ship's departure from South Philadelphia's Pier 82, where it had been docked since 1996, was a sad goodbye for residents who had come to love the historic vessel. Anwar Ali, whose father had emigrated from the Middle East on the SS United States in the 1960s, stopped by the pier to witness the sendoff.
"This has been something that my family has come and waved to as we go to a sporting event or any Philadelphia event," Ali said. "So the idea that it's leaving and moving is kind of the next step of saying goodbye to my dad, who passed away a couple of years ago."
Before docking on the Delaware River, the SS United States was a nautical legend. It set the transatlantic speed record, which it still holds, during its maiden voyage in 1952. While it was in operation, the ship carried a number of high-profile passengers, including Walt Disney, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe and John Wayne, as well as four presidents: Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy and a young Bill Clinton.
In 2024, Florida's Okaloosa County purchased the ocean liner for $1 million after a lengthy legal battle between the ship's longtime owner, the SS United States Conservancy, and its landlord, Penn Warehousing. Florida officials budgeted $10 million to clean the vessel and sink it about 20 miles south of Destin-Fort Walton Beach to become an artificial reef for ocean life and divers.
It wasn't the preferred outcome for some. In May, a group called the the New York Coalition to Save the SS United States filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Pensacola, Florida, to prevent the ship from being sunk. However, the case was dismissed in August.
On land, Okaloosa County plans to build a museum in partnership with the ship's conservancy and Thinc Design, which created the National September 11 Memorial Museum and the Empire State Building Observatory. The museum will showcase a propeller, radar mast, cocktail bar and two smokestacks that were removed in August.
The county has yet to set an official date for the sinking, which was originally scheduled for the end of 2025. When it does happen, it will be livestreamed with drone technology and on-board underwater cameras. Film crews have been along for the ride as separate documentaries are planned from the county and the conservancy.
While the ship seems destined to its watery grave, some people are still fighting to try to keep it afloat. On Dec. 18, the New York City Council approved a resolution calling for the Trump administration to allocate funds to restore the ship and transport it to New York City for restoration.
