Historic ocean liner off Florida’s Gulf Coast will soon be the world’s largest artificial reef

A historic ocean liner will become the world’s largest artificial reef once it reaches its final resting place off Florida’s Gulf Coast. Competing diving businesses are vying for the massive ship to be scuttled closer to them, while one group is suing to stop the ship from being sunk at all.

The SS United States, a nearly 1,000-foot vessel that shattered the trans-Atlantic speed record on its maiden voyage in 1952, is going through a monthslong scouring at the Port of Mobile in Alabama.

Workers will empty and clean all 120 fuel tanks, as well as remove chemicals, wiring, plastic and glass.

“There’s a lot of nasties on vessels that were built back in the ‘50s,” Okaloosa County coastal resource manager Alex Fogg said. “Basically, when it’s ready to be deployed, it will be a steel and aluminum structure.”

The SS United States is set to join Okaloosa County’s more than 500 artificial reefs, which include a dozen smaller ship wrecks. Officials hope to draw tourists and generate millions of dollars annually for scuba shops, charter fishing boats and hotels, as well as provide habitat for critical fish species and other sea life.

“The goal here is to be the dive capital of the state of Florida,” Fogg said. “We’re even trying to surpass the Florida Keys.”

Fogg said they expect to have the SS United States sunk by the end of the year at one of three permitted locations, all just over 20 nautical miles from Destin, Florida. All three locations are the same depth, about 180 feet of water to the sand, but the vessel is so tall that the top decks will be about 60 feet from the surface.

“That’s very much within the beginner diver profile, and those deeper depths will be certainly attractive to those technical and advanced divers,” Fogg said.

Bay County officials have agreed to offer $3 million to Okaloosa County to sink the SS United States closer to Panama City Beach.

Visit Panama City Beach President and CEO Dan Rowe said his area has one of the largest dive boat fleets along the northern Gulf Coast. Bay County has a long history of developing technology used in underwater exploration and the U.S. Navy’s dive school is located at Naval Support Activity Panama City.

“Diving is part of our DNA,” Rowe said.