🚢 Record-setting liner SS United States sunk to become a giant reef
The 1950s ocean liner, longer than the Titanic, was scuttled off Destin, Florida, to form what officials call the world's largest artificial reef.
The mystery
In 1952 this ship crossed the Atlantic faster than any passenger liner before or since. Presidents and film stars sailed on it. After decades rusting at a dock, its last voyage ended on the seabed. Why sink a famous ship instead of saving it?
The answer
The SS United States, a roughly 302-metre ocean liner, was deliberately sunk on Wednesday in the Gulf of Mexico off Destin, Florida. Its hull had been hollowed out, and over about five hours it slowly flooded, rolled onto its side and went down, without any explosives. On its first trip in 1952 the ship set an Atlantic crossing record of just under three and a half days (3 d 10 h 40 m), a time no passenger liner has beaten. Until 1969 it carried guests such as John F. Kennedy, Harry Truman, Marilyn Monroe and Salvador Dalí. Air travel ended its career, and for close to three decades it sat tied up at a Philadelphia pier while plans to turn it into a museum or hotel failed. Florida's Okaloosa County bought it for $1 million in 2024 and cleaned it for a year. Preservation activists were disappointed, but the county says the reef will help sea life, fishing and diving tourism, and a museum on land is planned.
Now think about this
Should historic ships be kept as museums, or is giving them a second life as reefs a better ending?
