The famous passenger liner SS United States, once the fastest ship in the world and longer than the Titanic, will be sunk off the coast of Florida. The ship departed on Monday for its final journey from Alabama to the coast of Destin, Florida, with the sinking scheduled for Wednesday in a precise operation without explosives.
SS United States crossed the Atlantic Ocean hundreds of times, carrying royal families and celebrities from the US to Europe between 1952 and 1969. Among the passengers were former presidents Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy, as well as a young Bill Clinton before he became president. During its service life, the ship was also boarded by stars such as Marlon Brando, Coco Chanel, Duke Ellington, Salvador Dalí, Walt Disney, Judy Garland and Cary Grant.
After nearly 30 years anchored in Philadelphia, the ship was moved from Philadelphia to Alabama last year for cleaning and repair work. It was purchased by a county in Florida, and the sinking will make it the largest artificial ocean reef in the world. It will be added to dozens of artificial reefs along the coast, and a land-based museum is also planned to detail the ship's history.
Activists unsuccessfully fought to preserve the historic ship and convert it into a museum. Before it was bought by the Florida municipal authority, numerous proposals for the ship to have a second life as a museum or floating hotel failed. The famous ship sat in various dry docks with different owners while legal battles were fought, and the group SS United States Conservancy repeatedly attempted to keep the ship afloat, but failed.
Susan Gibbs, president of the Conservancy, whose grandfather helped design the SS United States, said she was glad the ship's story would live on. Gibbs told CBS News, the American partner of the BBC, that the ship had always been an American symbol that brings many people together.
