The day many of us never wanted to see is now upon us. The SS United States is in final preparation to be towed to Mobile, Alabama, for a year-long conversion to prepare the great liner for reefing. Last week she was moved from Pier 82, a place she has called home since 1996, to the adjacent Pier 80. When her stern was turned towards the pier the majestic lines of this historic liner were just as grand today as they were when she first launched.

While many of us were hoping for a different outcome, at least the SS United States will have a proper burial at sea rather than being scrapped into history.  The SS United States Conservancy in partnership with her new owners, Okaloosa County, Florida, plan an immersive museum celebrating the liner and its place in history. As for her place in history, the SS United States still holds to this day the coveted Blue Riband for her record-breaking crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in 1952.  

When the SS United States went out of service in 1969, the liner saw a variety of changes in ownership that eventually resulted in substantial exterior and interior neglect. Thankfully an auction was held around that time with a good number of fittings and furnishings sold to various interested parties. The once grand liner of the Cold War was then gutted and stripped down to her bulkheads. But at least her final voyage will be celebrated the world over as she makes her journey to Okaloosa County.

There are other liners from history that I believe should have been saved from the scrappers. Most notable was the RMS Olympic (sister to the RMS Titanic). From her launch in 1910 to her scrapping in 1936, she was affectionally called “old reliable” for her consistent service throughout her career. If any ship should have been preserved as a museum, it was the Olympic. But the 1930s were a different time. War was brewing in Europe and liners such as the Olympic were recycled. Some of her furnishings can be seen at the White Swan Hotel in Alnwick, Northumberland, England.

Thankfully there are a few ocean liners that have been saved. The RMS Queen Mary (Long Beach, California), the Queen Elizabeth 2 (Dubai, UAE), and the SS Rotterdam (Rotterdam, Netherlands). While I have yet to visit the QE2 or Rotterdam, I’ve had the great pleasure of touring the Queen Mary on a few occasions. She is a true beauty and representation of Art Deco interior design. But she wasn’t always an ocean liner, she served as a troop ship in WWII and carried over 800,000 soldiers during the conflict (on one sailing she carried over 15,000 troops!).

As many of us watch the SS United States make her way to Florida over approximately 14 days, we will follow the final voyage of America’s flagship as she goes on to a new purpose as the world’s largest artificial reef when she is “retired from the surface” in the Gulf of America.

The SS United States—a record holder above and below the sea.