SS United States scheduled to depart from Philadelphia next week to be turned into artificial reef
The SS United States is scheduled to depart from Pier 82 in South Philadelphia to a docking area in Mobile, Alabama, next week, according to Okaloosa County, Florida officials. County officials say the ship will begin departing from Philly over two days, Nov. 14-15.
Okaloosa County recently acquired the iconic ocean liner in a $10 million deal. The county has plans to sink the ship and turn it into the world's largest artificial reef. The county says the ship will be docked in Mobile to prepare it to be turned into the artificial reef.
The ship was scheduled to depart Pier 82 last week but was pushed back because of a possible storm in the Caribbean.
According to Okaloosa County, tug boats will secure the ship on Nov. 14 during high tide, move it to the north side and secure it at Pier 80. High tide is expected to be around 11:45 a.m.
The SSUS will remain at Pier 80 until Friday, Nov. 15. Officials say tug boats will begin moving the ship into the Delaware River before dawn in anticipation of the estimated 6:59 a.m. low tide. The Walt Whitman Bridge, Commodore Barry Bridge and Delaware Memorial Bridge will close during this time.
Okaloosa County says the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will handle road closures and departures.
County officials say the estimated journey will be about two weeks. According to officials, preparing the ship for deployment will take about 12 months, but the exact location in the Gulf of Mexico has not been set. They added that the ship will likely be deployed about 20 miles south of the Florida panhandle region in the Destin-Fort Walton Beach area.
People interested in tracking the ship's journey to Okaloosa County can do so online. The county said the tracking will begin once the vessel begins moving operations.