OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. — The SS United States is now resting on the sea floor just off the coast of Destin after being sunk to become the world’s largest artificial reef.
Okaloosa County officials said the sinking started around 4 p.m. Wednesdaythough the ship had been expected to begin going down around 1 p.m. It took about five hours for the vessel to go completely underwater, with the ship finally going under around 9 p.m.
Nick Tomecek, Okaloosa County’s public information officer, said crews did not begin opening more than a dozen valves to let seawater in until about 4 p.m.
“While a lot of folks are upset that she didn’t go down at the time that we anticipated, most artificial reefing projects and deployments that I’ve been on, have had some kind of complication or delay. Nothing ever happens the way you want it to,” Tomecek said.
The county said crews had to fill some extra very large tanks with water before opening the ship’s valves. Once water started flooding in, air trapped inside the ship slowed the sinking, which is why it took hours.
“Each artificial reef is a little bit different. We never use explosives, but we always use the flooding method, so that can either mean using a pump to pump water onto the vessel, or, in the case of the SS United States, she already had these valves in place that were part of the ship’s function back in her heyday,” Tomecek said.
The county planned for the ship to land upright on the ocean floor to make it a destination for divers. Tomecek said early checks indicated that happened.
“So moments afterward there was a remote operated vehicle, ROV, and a side-scan sonar indicated the ship was upright,” Tomecek said.
The ship is now about 180 feet deep, beginning a new chapter as an artificial reef expected to attract divers and fishermen. County officials said it landed in nearly the exact coordinates crews were aiming for, about 22 nautical miles southwest of Destin-Fort Walton Beach.
“I can already see it now, all the posters, ‘Come fish the SS United States.’ You know, I can already see it,” said Jordan Casey, who watched from a nearby boat.
Casey said the location is within a common range for charter trips out of the area.
“That’s right about in our money zone, 20, 25 miles,” he said. “We’re usually anywhere between 20 and 30 miles, you know a longer trip, eight hours plus, we’ll go 30 plus miles.”
“In a six-hour, if you’re willing to burn some fuel, you can get there pretty quickly. You know, it’s, it’s in a very fishable area,” Casey added.
While the SS United States is now on the ocean floor, some pieces remain on land. The county said the smokestacks and propeller were removed before the ship was sunk. The SS United States Conservancy has plans to build a museum in Okaloosa County where the ship’s history will be displayed.
Source: weartv.com
