SS United States Artificial Reef: 29 Years Idle, Then This

Read Time:10 Minute, 30 Second At about nine o’clock last night, Gulf time, the fastest ocean liner ever built slipped under the water for the last time. The SS United States now rests on the sea floor off the coast of Florida. She is the world’s largest artificial reef, and as of this morning the sonar says she landed upright, exactly the way the engineers planned. Here is the part that is easy to miss. The SS United States artificial reef is the first useful thing this ship has done since 1969. She spent 17 years at sea and then 57 years waiting. Twenty-nine of those were tied to a single pier in Philadelphia, rusting, while plan after plan to bring her back fell through. If you grew up admiring her, or you simply like a great machine, the sinking is worth a few minutes. And if you are at a point in your own life where the fast years feel like they are behind you, it is worth a few more. What the SS United States Was Built to Do Her designer was William Francis Gibbs.

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