Iconic Ocean Liner SS United States Ordered to Leave Philly Berth by September

[1srelluc]

The iconic ocean liner ss United States is facing a new challenge in the more than decade-long struggle to repurpose the once fastest passenger ship in the world for a new use as a static attraction. The ship has been ordered to vacate from Pier 82 in Philadelphia by September 12, 2024, prompting the non-profit that owns the ship to scramble to find a new location and cover the costs of moving the nearly 1,000-foot-long vessel. In an odd quirk of fate, the decision came 25 years to the day after the ss United States was listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of her “compelling national significance.”

SS United States Conservancy had been fighting in court with Penn Warehousing operator of the Philadelphia pier where the vessel has languished for the past 28 years managed by a caretaker. U.S. District Court Senior Judge Anita Brody ruled today that the landlord could not arbitrarily double dockage fees without notice as the non-profit claimed it had done, but also ordered the vessel to leave the dock. During the court battle, the landlord accused the ship of having damaged the berth while the Conservancy said it was all part of an effort to evict the ship.

“While the Conservancy was vindicated in not being compelled to pay a large sum of back rent to the ss United States’ pier operator, the ruling makes clear this iconic American symbol is in peril,” said Conservancy President Susan Gibbs, the granddaughter of the ship’s famed designer, William Francis Gibbs. “The judge’s decision gives us a very limited window to find a new home for the ss United States and raise the resources necessary to move the ship and keep her safe.”

After the ship was stripped of everything in its interior it should have been scrapped.
Instead its hanging around like a zombie.....I say reef her.

 

[rampart]

The iconic ocean liner ss United States is facing a new challenge in the more than decade-long struggle to repurpose the once fastest passenger ship in the world for a new use as a static attraction. The ship has been ordered to vacate from Pier 82 in Philadelphia by September 12, 2024, prompting the non-profit that owns the ship to scramble to find a new location and cover the costs of moving the nearly 1,000-foot-long vessel. In an odd quirk of fate, the decision came 25 years to the day after the ss United States was listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of her “compelling national significance.”

SS United States Conservancy had been fighting in court with Penn Warehousing operator of the Philadelphia pier where the vessel has languished for the past 28 years managed by a caretaker. U.S. District Court Senior Judge Anita Brody ruled today that the landlord could not arbitrarily double dockage fees without notice as the non-profit claimed it had done, but also ordered the vessel to leave the dock. During the court battle, the landlord accused the ship of having damaged the berth while the Conservancy said it was all part of an effort to evict the ship.

“While the Conservancy was vindicated in not being compelled to pay a large sum of back rent to the ss United States’ pier operator, the ruling makes clear this iconic American symbol is in peril,” said Conservancy President Susan Gibbs, the granddaughter of the ship’s famed designer, William Francis Gibbs. “The judge’s decision gives us a very limited window to find a new home for the ss United States and raise the resources necessary to move the ship and keep her safe.”

After the ship was stripped of everything in its interior it should have been scrapped.
Instead its hanging around like a zombie.....I say reef her.

note to civic organizations who think that old ships are great tourist attractions.

the price of maintaing a hole that size in sea water using steel as a moisture barrior requires an incredible amount of labor and paint. be sure to budget.

 

[DGS49]

Cut it up for scrap.

 

[1srelluc]

Cut it up for scrap.

An artificial reef at a diveable depth would serve better than it being scrapped....Good fishing structure too.

 

[rightwinger]

The iconic ocean liner ss United States is facing a new challenge in the more than decade-long struggle to repurpose the once fastest passenger ship in the world for a new use as a static attraction. The ship has been ordered to vacate from Pier 82 in Philadelphia by September 12, 2024, prompting the non-profit that owns the ship to scramble to find a new location and cover the costs of moving the nearly 1,000-foot-long vessel. In an odd quirk of fate, the decision came 25 years to the day after the ss United States was listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of her “compelling national significance.”

SS United States Conservancy had been fighting in court with Penn Warehousing operator of the Philadelphia pier where the vessel has languished for the past 28 years managed by a caretaker. U.S. District Court Senior Judge Anita Brody ruled today that the landlord could not arbitrarily double dockage fees without notice as the non-profit claimed it had done, but also ordered the vessel to leave the dock. During the court battle, the landlord accused the ship of having damaged the berth while the Conservancy said it was all part of an effort to evict the ship.

“While the Conservancy was vindicated in not being compelled to pay a large sum of back rent to the ss United States’ pier operator, the ruling makes clear this iconic American symbol is in peril,” said Conservancy President Susan Gibbs, the granddaughter of the ship’s famed designer, William Francis Gibbs. “The judge’s decision gives us a very limited window to find a new home for the ss United States and raise the resources necessary to move the ship and keep her safe.”

After the ship was stripped of everything in its interior it should have been scrapped.
Instead its hanging around like a zombie.....I say reef her.

I think she is beyond restoration and I doubt many people are enthralled with the great days of the Ocean Liner and would pay to visit

It has been taking up dock space for decades and is not close to being refurbished.

Send her to the bottom

 

[ReinyDays]

The iconic ocean liner ss United States is facing a new challenge in the more than decade-long struggle to repurpose the once fastest passenger ship in the world for a new use as a static attraction. The ship has been ordered to vacate from Pier 82 in Philadelphia by September 12, 2024, prompting the non-profit that owns the ship to scramble to find a new location and cover the costs of moving the nearly 1,000-foot-long vessel. In an odd quirk of fate, the decision came 25 years to the day after the ss United States was listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of her “compelling national significance.”

SS United States Conservancy had been fighting in court with Penn Warehousing operator of the Philadelphia pier where the vessel has languished for the past 28 years managed by a caretaker. U.S. District Court Senior Judge Anita Brody ruled today that the landlord could not arbitrarily double dockage fees without notice as the non-profit claimed it had done, but also ordered the vessel to leave the dock. During the court battle, the landlord accused the ship of having damaged the berth while the Conservancy said it was all part of an effort to evict the ship.

“While the Conservancy was vindicated in not being compelled to pay a large sum of back rent to the ss United States’ pier operator, the ruling makes clear this iconic American symbol is in peril,” said Conservancy President Susan Gibbs, the granddaughter of the ship’s famed designer, William Francis Gibbs. “The judge’s decision gives us a very limited window to find a new home for the ss United States and raise the resources necessary to move the ship and keep her safe.”

After the ship was stripped of everything in its interior it should have been scrapped.
Instead its hanging around like a zombie.....I say reef her.

If people want to save her, then I don't see why we should stop them ... just need a place to tie her up is all ... the Atlantic Coast is long, Shirley there's a place to moor her ...

Just a small point ... her steel was refined before July 19th, 1945? ... maybe scrapping is a better idea ... that steel is worth extra ...

Do we feel the same about the USS Midway moored in San Diego Bay or the USS New Jersey currently in dry dock getting her haul painted? ... how about MOMA? ... the Smithsonian ... any museum for that matter ... do we have too many museums as it is? ...

Sinking her means we'll have to break her up on the ocean floor, instead of an Indian beach ... not sure that's wise ... for clarity, any steel refined after atomic bombs were detonated will be contaminated with Cesium-135 ... where that's a problem, we have to get our steel from old WWII warships ...

Low-background steel - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[rightwinger]

Do we feel the same about the USS Midway moored in San Diego Bay or the USS New Jersey currently in dry dock getting her haul painted? ..

I went to see the New Jersey a few weeks ago. Saw the USS United States while I was there…..sad looking

 

[odanny]

Send her to the depths.

 

[ReinyDays]

I went to see the New Jersey a few weeks ago. Saw the USS United States while I was there…..sad looking

View attachment 966776

I'd be jealous ... except I've been to the Midway ... both ships, and the Texas, deserve to be saved ...

 

[candycorn]

I think she is beyond restoration and I doubt many people are enthralled with the great days of the Ocean Liner and would pay to visit

It has been taking up dock space for decades and is not close to being refurbished.

Send her to the bottom

Norwegian (the cruise line, not the nationality so don’t slit your wrist blobbers) looked at it; they said no-thanks. Time to use it for scrap.

 

[rightwinger]

I might be interested in visiting the USS United States if it was restored to its past glory. Authentic Staterooms, dining areas, lounges, bars, bridge….

But the ship is a rusting hulk. All its interior woodwork and fixtures were sold off decades ago. It is beyond salvage at this point.

Send her to the bottom

 

[ReinyDays]

Send her to the bottom

Break her up for the non-radioactive steel ...

 

[1srelluc]

Break her up for the non-radioactive steel ...

She was built in 1950-51 so I don't know if pre-'45 steel was used in her or not.

 

[ReinyDays]

She was built in 1950-51 so I don't know if pre-'45 steel was used in her or not.

oh ... no 707's yet? ... my mistake ... she was made with new steel, maybe not all, but enough to ruin the rest ... such a waste ...

 

[whitehall]

The Philadelphia piers don't look all that busy. Maybe the name offends the sensibilities of the democrat regime.

 

[luiza]

The iconic ocean liner ss United States is facing a new challenge in the more than decade-long struggle to repurpose the once fastest passenger ship in the world for a new use as a static attraction.

If they are smart they will do a Titanic .

Go down in a huge storm and take the insurance money

And , as with the Titanic hoax , make sure a few Jewish bankers who need to disapopear before the crash , go down with the ship so that they can take up new lives with their ill gotten gains .
Simples .

 

[AZrailwhale]

If they are smart they will do a Titanic .

Go down in a huge storm and take the insurance money

And , as with the Titanic hoax , make sure a few Jewish bankers who need to disapopear before the crash , go down with the ship so that they can take up new lives with their ill gotten gains .
Simples .

Give us a break. Titanic was worth far more in service than the insurance money would bring. Her two sisters made tons of money for the White Star Line. RMS Olympic lasted until 1935 And Britannic was sunk by a mine while serving as a hospital ship in WWI. Both were highly profitable in peacetime service.

 

[Mushroom]

note to civic organizations who think that old ships are great tourist attractions.

the price of maintaing a hole that size in sea water using steel as a moisture barrior requires an incredible amount of labor and paint. be sure to budget.

Something that has become very obvious to Long Beach.

Back in 1967, the RMS Queen Mary was purchased by Long Beach with that idea in mind. Much of the interior was gutted, and it was turned into a museum and hotel. And four years later after extensive modifications it was finally opened to the public in 1971. And ever since then, it has been largely a money pit. There have been multiple companies that have tried to run it for the city, and they have all failed. Maintenance being ignored, exhibits being removed, doing all they can to maximize profits with little to no care given to the ship itself.

For those that did not know, it has been closed for most of the last 4 years, undergoing a badly needed series of repairs that cost over $45 million. I used to live near there, and visited her often in the 1970s and early 1980s. A common place to take visitors from out of town, because it was an inexpensive way to spend the day. Tickets were $5 or less, and it was always popular. But they kept trying to make it "grander", and each attempt only drove up prices and drove down visitors. And they are saying that this is the first year in decades the ship will actually make a profit, mostly because it has been closed for so long.

But I don't think it will last. At over $40 a ticket ($30 for kids), once the locals who want to revisit for the first time in years are done attendance will likely drop off to nothing again. And returning to over $3 million a year in losses.

After millions invested in repairs, the Queen Mary is now operating at a profit, operator says

Long Beach has poured money into neglected maintenance in recent years. Now, with the ship back open and operating at a profit, there's more money coming in to help cover those ongoing costs.

lbbusinessjournal.com

The Queen Mary used to be a popular destination for locals. I had taken dates there, as at one time they had a good restaurant inside and dancing afterwards. And in the 1980s it was about $5 for the evening dinner ticket, and the meals were about as expensive as a Black Angus or Ruth Crisp. But that is long a thing of the past, now they want $40 a person just to get on, and the dining is largely a thing of the past. It is not special enough to attract many actual tourists, and too expensive for the locals to use as they once had.

Maybe the only chance they had to save the SS United States is long past. And that would have been storing her for the last decades in a fresh water location. That would have gone a long ways to reducing the corrosion, and if that had been done she might have been saved. But now, sadly it is just too late. Making a reef out of her might be the best outcome.

 

[rampart]

Something that has become very obvious to Long Beach.

Back in 1967, the RMS Queen Mary was purchased by Long Beach with that idea in mind. Much of the interior was gutted, and it was turned into a museum and hotel. And four years later after extensive modifications it was finally opened to the public in 1971. And ever since then, it has been largely a money pit. There have been multiple companies that have tried to run it for the city, and they have all failed. Maintenance being ignored, exhibits being removed, doing all they can to maximize profits with little to no care given to the ship itself.

For those that did not know, it has been closed for most of the last 4 years, undergoing a badly needed series of repairs that cost over $45 million. I used to live near there, and visited her often in the 1970s and early 1980s. A common place to take visitors from out of town, because it was an inexpensive way to spend the day. Tickets were $5 or less, and it was always popular. But they kept trying to make it "grander", and each attempt only drove up prices and drove down visitors. And they are saying that this is the first year in decades the ship will actually make a profit, mostly because it has been closed for so long.

But I don't think it will last. At over $40 a ticket ($30 for kids), once the locals who want to revisit for the first time in years are done attendance will likely drop off to nothing again. And returning to over $3 million a year in losses.

After millions invested in repairs, the Queen Mary is now operating at a profit, operator says

Long Beach has poured money into neglected maintenance in recent years. Now, with the ship back open and operating at a profit, there's more money coming in to help cover those ongoing costs.

lbbusinessjournal.com

The Queen Mary used to be a popular destination for locals. I had taken dates there, as at one time they had a good restaurant inside and dancing afterwards. And in the 1980s it was about $5 for the evening dinner ticket, and the meals were about as expensive as a Black Angus or Ruth Crisp. But that is long a thing of the past, now they want $40 a person just to get on, and the dining is largely a thing of the past. It is not special enough to attract many actual tourists, and too expensive for the locals to use as they once had.

Maybe the only chance they had to save the SS United States is long past. And that would have been storing her for the last decades in a fresh water location. That would have gone a long ways to reducing the corrosion, and if that had been done she might have been saved. But now, sadly it is just too late. Making a reef out of her might be the best outcome.

rust never sleeps. more man hours on a ship are expended on "preservation."

 

[rightwinger]

If they are smart they will do a Titanic .

Go down in a huge storm and take the insurance money

And , as with the Titanic hoax , make sure a few Jewish bankers who need to disapopear before the crash , go down with the ship so that they can take up new lives with their ill gotten gains .
Simples .

It would make a great movie

Only problem with the Titanic movie is they should have had DeCaprio save the ship at the end.
That way they could have made sequels