The US Maritime Patriots Alliance announced the release of a video advertisement on social media calling on the Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners to halt its plan to sink the historic ocean liner the SS United States as an artificial reef, the organization said in a press release.

The ad argues that sinking the vessel during wartime carries symbolic implications.

“The United States is engaged in active military and maritime operations overseas,” said Carlos Camacho Jr., co-founder and chief communications officer of the SS United States Preservation Foundation.

“Sinking a vessel bearing the name UNITED STATES during the America 250 commemoration would hand our adversaries a symbolic victory they could never achieve on their own.”

The campaign also points to environmental risks, citing EPA-certified laboratory testing that detected hexavalent chromium in the ship’s coatings.

Dr. Todd Osborne of the University of Florida’s Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience has warned that submerging the vessel risks creating a toxic reef in the Gulf.

The Alliance states that the U.S. Maritime Administration controls a fleet of SL-7 Fast Sealift Ships already scheduled for decommissioning that could serve as alternatives.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has determined that the proposed sinking would constitute an adverse effect to a National Register-listed historic property.

The Section 106 review under the National Historic Preservation Act remains active and incomplete.