Kategorie: News
From Record-Breaker to Dive Destination
The SS United States was sunk as an artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, 11 November. Okaloosa County had brought the date forward by one day on Monday evening because strong winds and uncertain conditions were forecast for Thursday.
As we reported, the sinking had originally been planned for DEMA in November 2025, was then postponed to spring 2026 and finally to this November.
The sinking took several hours. According to The Guardian and local media, flooding of the ship began in the afternoon, local time, and by around 4.50 pm (just before midnight CET) the valves had been opened. Flooding was very slow at first. After several hours the ship developed a pronounced list to port and rolled onto its side within about a quarter of an hour, before going under at 9 pm local time, around 4 am CET on Thursday.
The ship had left Mobile in Alabama on Monday morning, towed by several vessels. It was sunk about 22 nautical miles south-west of Destin, off the coast of Florida. The planned send-off on site had been cancelled; a public viewing was set up in Destin instead. The sinking was broadcast live.
The new date fell on Veterans Day, the US public holiday honouring military veterans. Trey Goodwin, chairman of the Okaloosa County Board, had said: ‘While the weather may have changed our plans, it has given this historic occasion an especially meaningful date.’
A Reef for Divers
According to current information, the wreck lies at a depth of around 55 metres, with the uppermost decks at about 17 to 18 metres. This makes them accessible to most recreational divers and to technical divers. How the ship is lying on the seabed is not yet known. The plan was for her to sit upright. Live footage showed her heeling sharply to port shortly before going under. At around 300 metres in length, she has become, according to Okaloosa County, the largest artificial reef in the world.
There are as yet no details on the future rules for divers or on when the wreck will be opened to them. Maritime Executive named Thursday as a possible first day on which divers could visit the wreck.
The funnels, radar mast and bow anchor are to be displayed in a future museum on land.
The project was legally contested right up to the end. On 6 November, a federal court in Florida rejected a motion by the SS United States Preservation Foundation to stop the project by way of an injunction. The same court had already dismissed a lawsuit by a New York initiative in August 2025 for lack of standing.
History of the SS United States
The SS United States made her maiden voyage in 1952, crossing the Atlantic in three days, ten hours and 40 minutes – faster than the Queen Mary. In wartime she could have carried up to 15,000 troops, which is why her top speed long remained secret. According to our earlier report, between 1953 and 1969 she called at Bremerhaven 167 times and carried more than one million passengers. For almost 30 years the ship lay in Philadelphia before being towed to Mobile in 2025 and prepared there for sinking. Okaloosa County had bought it for one million dollars in 2024 and invested a total of around ten million dollars in the project.
More information:
SS United States dives: From record-breaking ship to artificial reef!
SS United States not yet sinking