TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) 鈥 A Florida county is in talks to acquire a storied but aging ocean liner in a proposed deal that could create the largest artificial reef in the world.
But the plan hit a snag Tuesday, after local officials in coastal Okaloosa County in the Florida panhandle postponed a vote on the plan to buy and purposefully sink the SS United States.
The ever built in the U.S., the SS United States shattered a record for the fastest trans-Atlantic crossing by a passenger liner on its maiden voyage in 1952, .
Now the is in a race against time to find a new resting place, after a court set a deadline for to vacate its current home at a pier in Philadelphia, following a yearslong legal dispute over rent and dockage fees.
Options include scrapping the massive ocean liner 鈥 which is more than 100 feet (30 meters) longer than the Titanic 鈥 or purposefully sinking it to create an artificial reef. Officials in Florida鈥檚 Okaloosa County hope to do just that: send the SS United States to the bottom of the Gulf to create the world鈥檚 largest artificial reef 鈥 a diving attraction that boosters hope will generate a year in local tourism spending for scuba shops, charter fishing boats and hotels.
鈥淢ost divers are going to be very excited,鈥 said David Bailey, a member of the Emerald Coast Scubaholics dive club. 鈥淏ut any of the reefing program is about more than just diving. ... Build the reefs, you get the fish.鈥
County staff have been tracking the status of the boat since 2022, with advocates arguing the SS United States could be a barnacle-encrusted star in the county鈥檚 constellation of more than .
But at a meeting of Okaloosa's Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday, staff asked that a vote on the proposal be postponed until the board鈥檚 next meeting on Sept. 17.
鈥淲e鈥檝e hit a wrinkle with the pier operators,鈥 County Administrator John Hofstad explained.
A spokesperson for the county said officials there are actively working with the , the group behind the effort to save the ship, but declined to make further comments about the status of the proposal.
___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
