Inside the fight to save the SS United States
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The SS United States. Photo: Hannah Yoon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A federal judge could decide Monday whether the historic SS United States can stay in its South Philly dock for a few more months while its owners negotiate a deal to sell it.
Why it matters: The ship's stewards, SS United States Conservancy, face a looming Sept. 12 deadline to find a new home for the 1,000-foot ocean liner — and it appears multiple parties are interested, including two who want to move the ship to Florida's coast.
Driving the news: The conservancy wants to push the September deadline back to Dec. 5.
- Among the parties the stewards are negotiating with: Two Florida counties that each want to sink the ship and use it as an artificial reef and diving destination.
- Meanwhile, the dock's landlord Penn Warehousing is threatening to charge the conservancy $3 million if the ship isn't moved by Sept. 12, saying it'll lose out on a lucrative deal with Hyundai Glovis for the docking spot on the Delaware River.
Catch up quick: The conservancy has been locked in a years-long legal dispute with Penn Warehousing after the landlord doubled the daily rent to $1,700.
- A federal judge ruled this summer that the ship needs to vacate after the conservancy refused to pay the increase.
The intrigue: Several groups have expressed interest in the historic ship designed by conservancy president Susan Gibbs' grandfather, architect William Francis Gibbs.
- During its maiden voyage in 1952, the SS United States became the fastest ocean liner to cross the Atlantic, eclipsing a previous record held by the RMS Queen Mary.
- The conservancy said it's searched for a dock big enough to accommodate the ship, but so far hasn't found one.
- Past attempts to save the ship have fallen through, including remaking it into time-share condos, a cruise line or a floating hotel project estimated to cost $400 million.
The latest: The conservancy said in a recent court filing that it's close to finalizing a deal with Florida's Okaloosa County. County board spokesperson Nick Tomecek tells Axios commissioners must approve the arrangement to acquire the vessel for a potential reef project.
- The county has hired contractors who spent several days in Philadelphia aboard the ship, the conservancy said in a filing Thursday. They sampled for potential pollutants and assessed the cost of cleaning the ship for a sinking.
Separately, Florida's Escambia County wants to buy the vessel for $8.6 million for a similar reefing project.
- It found a reefing site in the Gulf of Mexico, assessed the ship, conducted testing and started making arrangements to potentially tow the vessel from Philly, per the conservancy's court filings.
Yes, but: Both counties have "expressed grave concern" about the logistics and safety risks of moving the ship, especially during hurricane season, under such a time crunch, per the filings.
What they're saying: The conservancy says in its filing that the group's former landlord is trying to "circumvent the spirit" of the judge's decision by threatening a $3 million fee.
- Penn Warehousing blames the conservancy in its filing for not being able to meet the deadline to remove the vessel, arguing the conservancy itself testified it was reasonable.
Attorneys for the conservancy and Penn Warehousing declined Axios' requests for comment.