TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) 鈥� A Florida county is in talks to acquire a storied but aging 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.
Kate Payne, The Associated Press
