Florida county begins sinking historic liner SS United States as an artificial reef
The 990-foot record-setting ocean liner is to rest in about 180 feet of water off Destin, with no explosives used.
The SS United States, an ocean liner that was once the fastest on the seas, was being sunk on Wednesday, Nov. 11, in the Gulf of Mexico off Destin, Florida. Okaloosa bills the result as the world's largest artificial reef. Reuters reports the sinking started around 1 p.m. CST, but the ship settled so slowly that most of its hull was still above water at sunset.
According to the AP, the 990-foot ship was to come to rest in about 180 feet of water, roughly 25 miles southwest of Destin. No explosives were used. Water was to flood the hull through opened valves, and workers cut holes in the decks.
Officials moved the sinking up by a day because of concerns about weather. Crews spent months removing fuel, wiring, glass and other hazardous materials. The 65-foot smokestacks were taken off and are planned to anchor a new museum about the ship.
Retired in 1969, the liner sat for decades in Philadelphia before Okaloosa County bought it, sparing it from scrap. UPI reports a preservation group filed a last-minute lawsuit to stop the sinking, and a judge dismissed it.
- 990 feetlength of the shipThe Independent
- about 180 feetdepth of water where the ship is to restThe Independent
- more than 400 portholesremoved from the shipThe Independent
- About 500 artificial reefsalready in nearby waters, per the county spokespersonThe Seattle Times
Three sides of the story
18 news outlets reported this
Tap a color or swipe sideways to switch sides.
Liberal7 outlets
The liner's long fight for survival and sinking
Yahoo News, carrying a Reuters report, opens with the liner heading for the sea floor and describes the livestream: aerial views of the corroded ship, its smokestacks removed, going down gradually as the sun set. It cites organizers' fact sheet on the holes cut in the hull. The Boston Globe runs the AP report, which opens with a liner "longer than the Titanic" and gives the county spokesperson's explanation of the flooding system and the $13.5 million project.
The Independent's version leads with a ship "to be sent to watery grave." The Guardian looks at the decades-long fight over the ship's fate: failed hotel and museum plans, the 2024 eviction from Philadelphia and the county's purchase for $1m. It quotes Susan Gibbs: "While she will soon rest beneath the waves, her story will live on."
- Yahoo News: Famed ship heads for afterlife as artificial reef in deliberate sinking off Florida
- The Boston Globe: This ocean liner was the world’s fastest. It’s being sunk to make the largest artificial reef.
- The Independent: Famed ocean liner bigger than Titanic to be sent to watery grave in Florida
- The Guardian: Historic ocean liner to ‘live on’ beneath waves as world’s biggest artificial reef
Center7 outlets
A live sinking and the ship's long history
UPI leads with a "watch live" report: hundreds of people on small boats about 22 miles off Destin, still waiting at 4:30 p.m. ET for the sinking to begin. It adds that a judge dismissed a last-minute lawsuit and that the county paid $10 million. BBC News reports the ship "will be sunk," notes that activists unsuccessfully fought to save it as a museum and lists the celebrities who sailed on it.
It quotes Susan Gibbs, via CBS News, calling the ship an "unabashedly American symbol." The Seattle Times runs the AP report, with the explosives rules, the 180-foot depth and the spokesperson's line: "We're trying to be the best diving destination in the world." Forbes carries a watch-live headline calling the ship "Once Favored Among Presidents."
- UPI: Watch live: Historic ocean liner to be sunk off Florida's coast as artificial reef
- BBC News: Famed ship SS United States to be sunk off coast of Florida
- The Seattle Times: This ocean liner was the world’s fastest. It’s being sunk to make the largest artificial reef
- Forbes: Supership S.S. United States—Once Favored Among Presidents—Is Sinking Off Florida's Coast (Watch Live)
Conservative4 outlets
A live sinking of the once-fastest liner
The Epoch Times runs a "LIVE NOW" item saying the ship is to be sunk off Florida's Gulf Coast, with a photo caption showing it moored on the Delaware River in Philadelphia on Sept. 4, 2024. The Washington Times headline says the ship "was the world's fastest" and is being sunk to make the largest artificial reef.
Which side made the stronger case?
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- Price Okaloosa County paid for the ship
- The Guardian: $1m
- UPI: $10 million
- Expected depth of the top deck below the surface
- Yahoo News: about 50 feet
- The Boston Globe, The Independent, The Seattle Times: about 60 feet
All sources: 34 articles from 18 outlets
Liberal (21)
- ABC News: WATCH: SS United States sinks off of Florida coast to become artificial reef
- ABC News: WATCH: SS United States intentionally sunk off the Gulf Coast of Florida
- ABC News: WATCH: Historic ocean liner sunk to become artificial reef
- Al Jazeera English: From ocean legend to undersea reef: Why has the SS United States been sunk?
- NPR: The SS United States takes its final voyage to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico
- NPR: World's fastest ocean liner is sunk to break another record: largest artificial reef
- NPR: SS United States, a historic ship will be sunk to create an artificial reef
- The Boston Globe: The SS United States, a historic supership, sinks to the ocean floor - Clone
- The Boston Globe: This ocean liner was the world’s fastest. It’s being sunk to make the largest artificial reef.
- The Boston Globe: This ocean liner was the world’s fastest. It’s being sunk to make the largest artificial reef.
- The Guardian: Historic ocean liner sunk off the coast of Florida to become artificial reef – video
- The Guardian: Historic US ocean liner sinks near Florida to become world’s largest artificial reef
- The Guardian: SS United States to be sunk to become the world’s largest artificial reef - watch live
- The Guardian: Historic ocean liner to ‘live on’ beneath waves as world’s biggest artificial reef
- The Independent: The SS United States has been sunk. Here’s how life will take over the world’s largest artificial reef
- The Independent: Legendary liner SS United States slips beneath waves off Florida coast
- The Independent: Giant cruise liner SS United States is sunk to create world’s biggest artificial reef
- The Independent: Famed ocean liner bigger than Titanic to be sent to watery grave in Florida
- The Independent: This 1,000 ft ocean liner once carried world leaders. Now it's being sunk deliberately
- The Independent: Legendary ocean liner bigger than Titanic to be deliberately sunk off Florida within days
- Yahoo News: Famed ship heads for afterlife as artificial reef in deliberate sinking off Florida
Center (9)
- BBC News: Watch: Divers explore US ship sunk off Florida coast to create new reef
- BBC News: Famed ship SS United States to be sunk off coast of Florida
- Courthouse News: America’s flagship ocean liner begins new life on Gulf floor
- Euronews: Moment historic SS United States sinks off Florida’s coast
- Forbes: Supership S.S. United States—Once Favored Among Presidents—Is Sinking Off Florida's Coast (Watch Live)
- Newsweek: SS United States Has Just Been Sunk—What Happens Next?
- Newsweek: SS United States Sinking off Florida Coast: List of Famous Passengers
- The Seattle Times: This ocean liner was the world’s fastest. It’s being sunk to make the largest artificial reef
- UPI: Watch live: Historic ocean liner to be sunk off Florida's coast as artificial reef
Conservative (4)
- New York Post: Historic SS United States sinks after hours-long goodbye off Florida’s coast
- The Daily Wire: Legendary American Ocean Liner Sunk Off Florida To Become Diving Destination
- The Epoch Times: LIVE NOW: The SS United States, Once the World’s Fastest Ocean Liner, to Be Sunk Off Florida’s Gulf Coast
- The Washington Times: This ocean liner was the world's fastest. It's being sunk to make the largest artificial reef
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