For now, at least, the next port of call for the S.S. United States — the fastest oceanliner ever built — will not be the scrapyard, thanks to an outpouring of donations from ship lovers around the world.
Last month the preservationists who own the vessel faced a nightmare: Short of cash, they had been forced to seek bids from scrappers. Complicating matters, it was not even certain that the scrappers would be enthusiastic, given the decline in global commodities prices.
But in recent weeks, the ship’s existential crisis attracted donors from around the world who have contributed more than $600,000, buying time for the preservationist group, the S.S. United States Conservancy, to press ahead with a plan to redevelop the vessel.
The donations — including an anonymous gift of $250,000 — will cover the cost of caring for the ship “well into next year,” said Susan Gibbs, the conservancy’s executive director.
The Titanic-size luxury liner is docked in the Delaware River in Philadelphia. It has not moved under its own power for decades.
But half a century ago, it dominated passenger service on the high seas between New York City and Europe. The ship was so powerful that during the Cold War, its top speed was a state secret.
In a statement, the anonymous donor said that scrapping the ship would be “like letting the Statue of Liberty be melted down and turned into pennies.”
UPDATE: In February of 2016, Crystal Cruises announced a plan to take over the maintenance costs of the SS United States, once “America’s Flagship,” with the intention of conducting a nine-month feasibility study of a refit for seagoing service.
She was previously owned and maintained by Philadelphia’s S.S. United States Conservancy, which purchased her from NCL in 2011 when the line considered sale and scrapping.
Note from Storm: I sailed the S.S. United States in 1968 as a 16-year-old, in my first trip back to England (where I used to live) on my own. So, I’m very happy to see that folks have come to the rescue of one of the proudest American creations of all time.
[Photo credit: Storm Cunningham]
See February 4, 2016 article announcing Crystal Cruises maintenance partnership.