Reaching 302 meters in length and once crossing the Atlantic Ocean in under three days and 11 hours, the historical passenger liner SS United States is being sunk off the coast of Florida on Wednesday to form the world’s largest artificial reef, BBC News Mundo reported.
The intentional sinking takes place approximately 40 kilometers off the northwest coast of Florida between Pensacola and Destin-Fort Walton Beach.
Diseñado por William Gibbs para servir como transporte de tropas, el barco costó más de US$ 70 millones y podía transportar hasta 14.000 soldados.
The SS United States Conservancy fought for years to preserve the ocean liner as a museum, but those efforts did not succeed. Susan Gibbs, president of the organization and granddaughter of one of the ship’s designers, reflected on the vessel’s legacy.
“The ship “always has been an unmistakably American symbol that brings so many people together,” Gibbs told CBS News, a BBC News Mundo partner.”
El transatlántico pasó casi 30 años atracado en Filadelfia antes de ser trasladado para su limpieza y preparación. The ship began its journey from Mobile heading toward the Gulf of Mexico, FomoEra reported.
Environmental preparations included removing potential pollutants and drilling holes in the hull to facilitate water and air flow during the descent. While the SS United States Preservation Foundation raised concerns regarding hexavalent chromium found in paint samples through legal challenges rejected by a judge, Okaloosa County officials maintained that cleanup operations met all federal and state standards.
Once it rests on the sandy bottom at a depth of about 55 meters, the vessel will become the 21st and largest wreck on the Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail.
“Fish will begin to gather around a new artificial reef in a matter of hours or days,” said Michael Parsons, professor of marine science at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, adding that bacteria and algae would inhabit the structure almost instantly, according to CNN en Español.
The deployment operation uses controlled flooding without explosives to ensure the hull rests upright. Okaloosa County scheduled a farewell ceremony for November 11 at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Convention Center, alongside a live stream of the procedure for public viewing.
