Preservation Group Buys Ocean Liner SS United States

I have always had an interest in ships and the ocean - even as a child living in central New York and well away from the ocean. Since college and law school I have always lived in coastal areas and at my first law firm out of law school I worked on a number maritime law matters. In addition, years ago, I was able to go aboard the liner SS United States while it was tied up in Norfolk. While not as large as newer cruise ships and not as lavish as some of the liners of yesteryear, the SS United States - built in nearby Newport News - has always had the distinction of being the fastest ocean liner ever built with a top speed of in the neighborhood of 38.3 knots (44.1 mph). Given its length of 990 feet and 53,330 gross tons, that speed is amazing. The Virginian Pilot is reporting today that the liner has once again dodged the scrap yard. I hope the restoration plan pans out this time around. Here are some highlights:
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After decades of false starts, shifting owners, dashed hopes and a nomadic existence, it appears the SS United States' distress call is finally being answered. The nonprofit SS United States Conservancy announced Tuesday it has purchased the legendary ocean liner, berthed in Philadelphia since 1996, from Norwegian Cruise Lines and its parent for $3 million. The ship, built in Newport News, was once berthed in Norfolk.

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"While we've already been talking with a number of investors, municipal officials and developers, we can take these conservations to the next level because we now hold title to the vessel," said Susan Gibbs, conservancy board president and the granddaughter of William Francis Gibbs, the ship's Philadelphia-born designer.

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The estimated $200 million cost to renovate the ship's of development space will come from for-profit entities. The conservancy is exploring possible partnerships with as yet unnamed entities in Philadelphia, New York and Miami to redevelop the liner as a stationary entertainment complex with a hotel, restaurants, retail, educational and museum components, Gibbs said. In the meantime, the group has launched a $1 million fundraising campaign to pay for title transfer costs, structural assessments, PCB removal and other costs, said Dan McSweeney, executive director of the Washington D.C.-based conservancy.

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"This is the first time in the history of the SS United States that a group concerned primarily with the vessel's historic significance and preservation has owned her," McSweeney said. "We can't truly say she's saved yet — that will happen when we establish a successful partnership to redevelop the ship — but we can say that we're generating the right momentum to be able to achieve that goal," he said.