PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A retired ocean liner has been floating on the Delaware River in South Philadelphia for nearly 30 years, but it probably won’t for much longer. A federal judge denied the ship’s deadline extension request to remain docked until the winter, putting the historic vessel in uncertain waters.
The SS United States has been berthed at Pier 82, located across from the IKEA on Columbus Boulevard.
On Monday, a federal judge in Philadelphia denied a request by the SS United States Conservancy for more time — until early December — to keep the former luxury liner at its South Philadelphia berth while it figures out its future. The judge said it must leave the pier by Sept. 12.
Craig Mills, attorney for Penn Warehousing, the owner of Pier 82, said the September deadline is firm. If the SS United States Conservancy, which owns the ship, doesn’t move it by that date, Mills said his client would consider arresting and selling it.
In a statement, the conservancy said the Sept. 12 eviction date poses several challenges, including moving the vessel during an active hurricane season.
This latest action follows a federal judge’s order last spring that said the vessel must leave the pier by mid-September. The landlord claimed the ship was damaging the pier and the conservancy owed back rent after Penn Warehousing doubled the rent a few years ago.
Penn Warehousing wanted the ship gone a few years ago. The conservancy purchased the vessel in 2011 with several plans to restore and repurpose it over the years — including one proposal to turn the ship into a multi-purpose waterfront complex — but those plans were unsuccessful.
The conservancy is considering deals with two counties in Florida to sink the ship and make it an artificial reef and tourist destination for divers. Nothing has been finalized at this point.
On its website, the conservancy posted a $500,000 fundraising campaign in an effort to help relocate the historic ship.
KYW Newsradio reached out to the SS United States Conservancy and the nonprofit’s lawyer for comment but has not heard back.