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Potential Sinking Of SS United States Under Consideration For Escambia County As Artificial Reef
July 22, 2024
There’s discussion about sinking the SS United States, a 1,000-foot-long ship that’s larger than the Oriskany and longer than the Titanic, offshore from Escambia County.
Many in the diving community have expressed support of the idea, saying it would make Escambia County an ultimate diving spot.
If approved, the ship would become a new dive attraction in the area, bringing tourism and economic benefits to the region. But it would come without a hefty price tag.
Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh said it would take a commitment of $10 million and fast because it would need to be moved from a shipyard in Pennsylvania by September 12 and towed to Escambia County during hurricane season.
“I like the idea; I like the plan. But $10 Million is a heavy lift. Possible funding sources include TDT (tourist development tax) funds, perhaps some BP Oil Spill money, and potentially even a Triumph Gulf Coast grant if such a project could meet that board’s criteria,” Berfosh wrote on his blog. ” Stay tuned over the next several weeks as this will be discussed due to the pressing timeline. And again, for my vote, I LOVE this idea just as I LOVED the plan to bring American Magic here — which has now come to pass.
“This ship could also be a huge get for our area,” he wrote.
The Escambia County Marine Advisory Committee is expected to discuss the idea at a Monday afternoon meeting.
The SS United States is 990 feet long, 100 feet longer than the Titanic. It is just over 101 feet wide, and 53,330 tonnes. The draw at the load line was 36 feet-4 inches. The ocean liner was built between 1950 and 1951 for Unite States Lines. It was taken out of service in 1969.
The nonprofit SS United States Conservancy is working to relocate the ship from Philadelphia to comply with a court order. They have filed a motion with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania requesting a short extension of the deadline to move the vessel from September 12, 2024, until December 5, 2024.
The Conservancy’s motion comes as the organization continues to aggressively explore potential temporary and permanent berths in the Philadelphia area and other port cities along the East Coast and prepare the ship to leave its current pier safely, according to a press release.
Earlier this summer, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Anita Brody ruled that the SS United States’ landlord, Penn Warehousing, could not double dockage fees without notice in its effort to force America’s Flagship from Pier 82 in Philadelphia. However, the Court also directed the Conservancy to remove the irreplaceable national symbol from Pier 82 in Philadelphia by September 12, 2024.
Comments
26 Responses to “Potential Sinking Of SS United States Under Consideration For Escambia County As Artificial Reef”
Where is an itemized list of where the $10,000,000 total comes from for towing a junk ship and sinking it.
Already need advanced diving skills to dive the Oriskany due to its depth and the dangerous currents that surround it. If the SS United States is placed similarly it could be decades before the breakeven point is reached by the county.
So many things Escambia County needs but this is what Bergosh chooses to work to get a ridiculous amount of money for.
USE YOUR VOTE!!
How much hazards are on this ship
LEAD PAINT !!!
ASBESTOS !!!
RUSTING IRON LATER
if a fish eats floating asbestos or absorbs lead, whats the human consumption risks.
Lets see now. What could 10 million dollars do for this county? Start off with repairing roads, hiring of more deputies to fight crime,(bring the helicopter back to) more streetlights, with all the new subdivisions we need more schools (that’s more important than a sunken ship)
Maybe the county should look at giving increases to county employees to ones that need them, not the ones making close to $100,000 but the ones that are just getting by. Its too late to bring the Lex back but this city lost probably a lot of revenue not keeping her here and the history. Just ask yourself what would $10 million do for this county.
VOTE!
Pnsacolascott, what fantasyisland are you on that you think we will EVER recoup the $10,000,000 in 5 years from an exclusive very SMALL community of divers. Lets ask ourelves……How many of us know an open water diver who does it on a reg basis…NONE OF US DO….
Why should we pay for the disposal of junk. Let them sink it of the coast of New Jersey.
Makes me wonder what the kickback is for Bergosh. Plus we already have a sunken ship reef that’s doing just fine. Ten million is a lot of money that could be utilized in other much needed ways.
Sinking the ship is an asinine idea. After 55 years of being laid up at least finish the job and find a place for her on the East Coast as a museum just as the West Coast has the Queen Mary (Long Beach, CA) Sinking the ship? We already have enough junk sitting on the ocean floor everywhere not to mention all the junk floating in the ocean. Please, for once be sensible!
@Dave Lamb. A tonne is a metric ton. Tonnes is the plural form of tonne.
Personally I think this is a very bad investment. It would be interesting to find out where those dive boats are operating out of. Escambia County or Santa Rosa County or Okaloosa County. Alabama maybe?
If you really want to do this get the surrounding counties involved and split the bill.
That or a hard pass.
this is an investment into many years of financial returns. we sink the ship once and forever we attract divers who return more than 150% return on the investment in the first 5 years. I dont expect most people to be able to comprehend this idea. This ship as a reef will benefit everyone in the county/state by attracting the divers. Who here knows how our neighboring counties are doing with diver related traffic and income? Would you believe there are lots of independent studies and they all show great results. the idea that we will continue to get return on our investment should make this a priority.
How does a tone compare in weight to a ton
The constantly deteriorating community of NWFL has many priorities greater than another dive site that benefits a few.
Why sink it. It is a national treasure. Not that anyone in this administration give two rats about America’s National Treasures. I say divert one check that the war mongers are sending to the con artist that is Zelensky, and refurbish the ship for a floating national museum. Rent out the staterooms to nostalgic adventure seekers. Use the ball rooms for political events or other exclusive functions. Replace our USS Lexington that was weaseled away from Pensacola with promise of bringing another carrier here. More money than that is wasted on much more useless projects.
How come it’s always Bergosh that comes up with these hairbrained ideas? He’s like a child that has a dollar in His pocket and has to spend it. I was a scuba diver with a ton of hours in My younger days and would be the first to say that that this is not a sound investment.
BERGOSH NEEDS TO GO BYE BYE!
Is $10,000,000 the total cost or just the beginning?
Sinking of the SS United States…..? Bad Omen.
DITTO MR/MISS LEX. THAT AIRCRAFT CARRIER WAS IN WW2 ! the history draw here would have been alot. believe she ended up in texas as a museum.
I think it would be an awesome asset to provide a giant artificial reef for the many species of aquatic creatures we have here. So sad a beautiful ship like this had such a short shelf life but this would allow it to live on in a positive way.
@Voter @Just Saying @Lex @Me AMEN and AMEN to ALL your comments. This ship is THE last thing we need. We need to get a grip on the drug culture and the crime rate in this county. JEFF Bergosh…if you want the ship here that bad….pull out your own money and bring it here. DON’T depend and rely on taxpayers to fund $10 million to put a whole in a boat just to sink it when our county is slowing sinking. Put that money to a worthwhile cause. Thank you very much.
If Escambia can come up with $10mill, how come Bergoof can’t come up a Pine Forest plan at I-10 tp 9 mile….
This ship has quite a history if your into ships. It was the fastest cruise liner ever built with an average cruise speed of 40 MPH and unofficial top speed of 51 MPH. It holds the fastest North Atlantic crossing for a cruise ship 3.4 days. It was the first air conditioned cabin ship. The fuel required to reach those speeds with a steam turbine was massive. It was used as a troop transport after passenger service.
If Bergosh likes the idea then there is money that can be siphoned off. How many times do we need to see how crooked people are before you stop voting for them?
It highlights all that’s wrong with this generation of politicians on every level. They would spend $10million dollars to bring a ship down here and sink it. It’s hard to imagine that money being recouped any time soon.
Spend the $10 mil on getting a handle on the drugs and crime that are rampant in Escambia County instead of trying to bring more people here to be preyed upon. It used to be a beautiful place. Now the beaches are so crowded that it’s no longer a fun destination.
It’s amazing the county is aggressively wanting to give serious consideration to moving a ship here from Philadelphia. But when the Lexington came available they made no honest effort to keep her here. She would have been a real historical tourist attraction. And oh yes there would not have been a hefty cost to relocate her.
10 Million Dollars!!!
Why would we spend that money to bring this ship all the way down here for only a few people to get any use of??? So a few fishermen and divers will see it and……that’s it?
$10,000,000
That’s absurd!!!