Last-Ditch Effort to Save the Historic “SS United States” Comes Days Ahead of Ship’s Planned Sinking

A preservation foundation sued to stop Florida officials from sinking “America’s Flagship” to create the world’s largest artificial reef off the coast of Pensacola

NEED TO KNOW

  • A preservation group sued federal officials and Florida’s Okaloosa County over plans to turn the 990-foot ocean liner into an artificial reef
  • The ship is scheduled to be sunk on Nov. 12, with preservationists calling the timing around Veterans Day “tone-deaf”
  • The 1952 vessel hosted presidents and celebrities and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1999

A nonprofit preservation group has filed a federal lawsuit in an attempt to block the sinking of the historic SS United States ocean liner. The filing comes only days before the 74-year-old vessel is scheduled to be submerged and transformed into the “world’s largest artificial reef.”

The SS United States Preservation Foundation, Inc., and its co-founder, Steven R. Perry, filed a civil lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Florida’s Okaloosa County on Nov. 3, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE…

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