The SS United States Conservancy has responded to a report on Get the Coast on the agreement to purchase and reef the historic ocean-liner.

The statement reads:

The U.S. District Court denied the Conservancy’s request for a three-month extension at the ship’s Philadelphia pier, ruling instead that we have until September 12 to present a formal agreement to the court to remove the ship from Pier 82. 

Now legally obligated to comply with the Judge’s rulings, the Conservancy has been in discussions on a range of scenarios for the ship’s future, including proposals to deploy the SS United States as an artificial reef in tandem with a land-based museum and immersive experience incorporating iconic components from the ship. To comply with the court’s ruling, we have entered into a contingent contract with Okaloosa County, Florida, to advance this vision.

We must emphasize that this proposal remains subject to various contingencies, including a successful negotiation with pier operator Penn Warehousing to extend the ship’s stay beyond the September 12 deadline, while the complex logistics of moving and reefing the ship are worked out. Unfortunately, some media outlets have published misleading stories today suggesting that such a deal is a fait accompli. It is not. There are multiple discussions underway and many unresolved matters that make both the outcome and timing uncertain at this point.

Reefing is not the Conservancy’s preferred scenario for the SS United States. In an intense and all-hands-on-deck effort to keep the ship safely afloat, we have conducted a massive nationwide search for a new temporary location—a search that has thus far yielded no viable alternatives. With our hand being forced by Penn Warehousing, and scrapping being the only other viable option, we believe reefing is the more dignified outcome.

Since its founding, the Conservancy has worked tirelessly to raise public awareness about the ship’s historic importance, organize exhibitions and events, and care for a major museum collection of artwork, archival documentation, and historic components from the vessel. Our primary goal has always been to repurpose America’s Flagship and celebrate her legacy as a symbol of innovation, strength, and pride. Redeveloping the SS United States has always been a uniquely complex, costly, and challenging undertaking. We worked in close partnership for five years with prominent real estate development firm RXR Realty, and more recently MCR Hotels, to advance a commercially viable development plan for the ship. In the end, Penn Warehousing’s actions ended our ability to continue searching and advocating for a viable location for the project and we are unlikely to realize our shared dream. We are now working diligently to salvage that dream as best we can, albeit not in the way we had originally envisioned, but in a way that allows the story of our nation’s ship to inspire generations to come.

We completely understand that the prospect of reefing the SS United States may be challenging to contemplate. Many members of the Conservancy’s Board of Directors have been working to avoid such an outcome for over a decade. We vow to continue to do everything we can to best preserve her legacy each day leading up to the Court-imposed September 12 deadline, and we remain eternally grateful for your support and partnership in our shared mission.