A federal judge turned down a last-minute request to stop the SS United States from being towed out of Mobile and sunk as an artificial reef off Destin, Florida, on Thursday, Nov. 12.
The fight to save the SS United States hit a wall on Friday.
U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers denied a temporary restraining order that would have stopped the famous ocean liner from being towed out of Mobile, Alabama, and sunk in the Gulf. That ruling came Friday, Nov. 6, according to Cruise Hive and The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Barring new filings or bad weather, the 990-foot ship leaves Mobile on Monday, Nov. 9, and goes to the bottom on Thursday, Nov. 12. That’s less than a week from now.
Here’s WMBB News 13’s report on the county setting the Nov. 12 date:
Why did the judge deny the SS United States restraining order?
It came down to paperwork. Cruise Hive quotes the order saying, “The docket is void of a verified complaint and/or any affidavit attesting to the truthfulness” of the facts in the complaint and motion.
Rodgers also pointed to the “obvious substantial expense” an injunction would bring, both outlets report, since someone would have to pay to keep a giant ship parked at a dock.
The door isn’t fully shut. Cruise Hive reports the judge said any new request must include a bond big enough to cover those costs. As of close of business Friday, no new filing had been recorded.
Who sued to stop the SS United States sinking?
The SS United States Preservation Foundation filed suit Tuesday, Nov. 3, in federal court in Pensacola, then asked for an emergency restraining order on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
The Maritime Executive reports the suit claims the Army Corps of Engineers skipped a full environmental impact statement and a historic preservation review. It also raises concerns about 59,000 pounds of zinc chromate primer on the ship.
Cruise Fever lists the defendants as the Army Corps of Engineers, two Corps officers, the acting Navy secretary and Okaloosa County. The foundation’s co-founder, Steven R. Perry, told Cruise Fever, “She was built to sail these waters, not be sunk beneath them.” Neither outlet found any response from the group after Friday’s ruling.
This is the second time Rodgers has turned down a group trying to save the ship. In August 2025, she dismissed a suit from a different preservation coalition for lack of standing, Get The Coast reported then.
When and where will the SS United States be sunk?
Okaloosa County’s own release says sinking operations start at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12, weather permitting. The reef site sits about 22 nautical miles southwest of Destin-Fort Walton Beach.
The county plans a sendoff ceremony at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Convention Center. DIVE Magazine reports the wreck will rest in about 180 feet of water, with the upper decks around 55 to 60 feet down, which is the whole point: a giant new dive site.
County spokesperson Nick Tomecek told the Inquirer the ship “is going to live for a long time in the Gulf.”
How much is the SS United States reef costing?
The county bought the ship from the SS United States Conservancy for $1 million in 2024. Getting it ready to sink has cost a lot more. The Inquirer now puts the total at “more than $13 million to buy and prepare” the ship.
Crews already pulled both funnels, the radar mast, the last propeller, portholes and windows, according to the Maritime Executive. Hundreds of artifacts are headed to a planned land-based museum.
The liner left Philadelphia on Feb. 19, 2025, after nearly three decades docked there, and reached Mobile in early March 2025.
Why is the SS United States so famous?
She was the fastest ocean liner ever built. Launched in 1951, the ship made her maiden voyage in July 1952 and set a transatlantic record that summer, averaging 35.59 knots eastbound. No passenger liner has beaten that crossing since.
Her passenger list reads like a Hollywood Walk of Fame. Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant, Judy Garland, Duke Ellington and even Walt Disney sailed on her. A young Bill Clinton rode her in 1968.
The ship was pulled from service in 1969 and spent the next five decades looking for a second act. Unless a new filing changes things this week, that second act starts on the seafloor.
Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.
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Hat Tips:
Cruise Hive (Nov. 7), the ruling, order quotes and tow date
The Philadelphia Inquirer (Nov. 6), the ruling, expense quote, cost total and Tomecek quote
The Maritime Executive (Nov. 6), the lawsuit claims and artifact removal
Cruise Fever (Nov. 5), the defendants and Perry quote
Okaloosa County (Oct. 26), the sinking time, ceremony and reef site
DIVE Magazine (Oct. 22), the reef depth
Get The Coast (Aug. 7, 2025), the earlier dismissal
WMBB News 13, the reef date video
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