Updated on Feb. 7, 9 a.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The SS United States is going nowhere fast. Its final voyage has been delayed yet again.
After being docked in South Philadelphia for nearly three decades, the SS United States was given the green light by the U.S. Coast Guard to begin its journey to the waters off of the Florida panhandle, where it will aid the environment as the world’s largest artificial reef.
The rusting ship was supposed to be moved Thursday from Pier 82 to Pier 80 in South Philly before beginning its final journey to the South this weekend.
However, the Coast Guard announced on Thursday that it wants more details about how the ship will be moved safely, according to the ship's new owner, Okaloosa County, Florida.
Officials were planning on towing it to Mobile, Alabama this weekend, where it will be stripped of toxic materials, but now that journey is on hold yet again.
Whenever it does finally depart, America's Flagship will be chaperoned by tug boats down the Delaware River to the Atlantic Ocean. After the vessel begins moving operations, you can follow the journey via GPS tracking. The trip should take about two weeks.
Once in Alabama, the retired ocean liner will be prepared for the day she is sunk off the coast of Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Florida. In a process that’s expected to take about a year, crews will remove all hazardous material, non-metal parts and all traces of fuel, and the vessel will be modified so it will land upright underwater.
Okaloosa County’s Tourist Development Department has budgeted $10.1 million for the project.
The SS U.S. was supposed to depart Philadelphia back in November 2024, but the Coast Guard raised safety concerns and postponed the plan.
The ship has been docked in South Philly for nearly 30 years. In 2011, the SS United States Conservancy purchased the ship to save and repurpose it. Attempts to turn the vessel into a hotel, a casino and a museum have failed over the years. In 2021, the ship's dock fees were doubled by the pier's owner to $1,700 a day. The Conservancy's lease was terminated in 2022 when it could not afford to pay the increase.
The final resting place of the SS United States has not been set, but it is expected to be about 20 nautical miles south of Destin-Fort Walton Beach. Due to the ship's size and depth, it will benefit the surrounding ecosystem as a home to countless reef fish and other marine species, and divers will be able to explore the ship.
Okaloosa County has plans to build a museum on land in Destin-Fort Walton Beach, featuring parts of the ship and items from the SS United States Conservancy’s curatorial and archival collection.