Liner SS United States to Be Saved from Scappers

I have always love ships and with the SS United States (pictured above with its older and smaller cruising mate, the America, in the foreground in the photo above) having entered service in the year of my birth, I have always felt a connection with the ship (which was built in Newport News,which is less than 10 miles from where I sit typing this post) as crazy as that may sound, I've actually been on board back in the early 1980's when many of the ship's furniture, etc., were auctioned off in Norfolk before the United States left for a different mooring. I've also sat at the First Class Bar now found at Windmill Point, a restaurant in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, which has plaques about famous people who sat at the bar: Marilyn Monroe, Queen Elizabeth, etc. At 990 feet, the United States is not as large as some of the newest cruise ships that weigh in at more than twice the gross tonnage. But in terms of speed, the United States has never been matched - according to the nearby Mariner's Museum, the official top speed is still secret - and equal or exceeds 45 miles per hour, something amazing for an object 990 feet long and 105 feet wide. The ship is also one of the most fire proof ships ever built. Here are highlights from the Wall Street Journal concerning the ship's apparent saving from the scrap yards:
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Against the odds, a small band of ship preservationists has nosed out scrappers with an agreement to buy the historic ocean liner—and perhaps turn it into a stationary waterfront hotel or multi-use development. The S.S. United States Conservancy plans to announce Thursday a deal to buy the ship from its current owner, cruise operator NCL Group, for $3 million.
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The scrappers are at bay for now. But the proposed sale still must satisfy Environmental Protection Agency concerns related to toxins aboard the nearly 60-year-old steamship. If the sale goes through, it would cap quite a turnaround: The group of mainly volunteers transformed themselves into a serious bidder for a Titanic-sized vessel in just a few months as scrappers began circling their prize.
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Even if the deal goes through, the ship faces a long comeback. Its luxury fittings are long gone. The interior has been gutted to the bare metal for asbestos abatement, and exploring the ship requires flashlights to maneuver pitch-black passageways. Passenger cabins are identifiable only by marks on the floor where walls used to be.
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During the recent ship tour, conservancy board president Susan Gibbs, whose grandfather designed the vessel, described her grandmother's memories of being aboard. "The elegance, the champagne, the light and speed, the scotch-and-sodas at 10 a.m.," she said. "What a majestic symbol this ship was."
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Joseph Rota, who served on the ship's crew as a young man, stopped in what used to be the first-class observation lounge and recalled a chat with Prince Rainier of Monaco in the mid-1950s. "Sitting right there," Mr. Rota said, pointing to the spot. The prince was traveling for a meeting with actress Grace Kelly, his future wife, Mr. Rota said.
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I hope the preservationists are successful. The world has lost so many of the fabulous liners of old which have a certain class and cache that the newer behemoths just cannot match. More on the SS United States can be found here.