Featured News Coverage
New York Times: Can This Woman Save the United States?
August 9, 2024 - Susan Gibbs needs to find a new parking spot, fast. And not just any parking spot will do. It needs to be big enough for an ocean liner. It’s for a ship bigger than the Titanic, one that is nearly as long as the Chrysler Building is tall. A ship so luxurious that it was the first choice of presidents and royalty. A ship so trusted that it once carried the Mona Lisa. A vessel so fast that its mammoth propellers, churning the sea beneath its grand promenades and shipboard orchestras, were a Cold War state secret.
Associated Press: Conservancy that oversees SS United States seeks $500K to help relocate historic ship
June 24, 2024 - The conservancy that oversees the SS United States has launched an urgent $500,000 fundraising campaign to help cover relocation expenses for the historic ship amid its uncertain future. Besides finding a new home, the conservancy also must obtain funds for insurance, tugs, surveys and dock preparations for moving the ship, which is incapable of self-propulsion. The group is focusing its efforts on finding a temporary berth in the Philadelphia area or on the East Coast, and fears that if a temporary home cannot be found soon, the vessel could be lost forever.
USA Today: Massive, historic ‘America’s Flagship’ must leave Philadelphia port. But where can it go?
June 21, 2024 - The hulking and historic SS United States, a thousand-foot-long ocean liner tied for 28 years to Pier 82 behind a South Philly Ikea, will need to find a new home by Sept. 12, a federal judge ruled this month. The ruling follows a yearslong court dispute over the vessel's berth after landlord Penn Warehousing first told the ship to leave the Port of Philadelphia in 2022.
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: Will Joe Biden save the SS United States? Its supporters are making their case.
February 15, 2024 - The caretakers of the SS United States, once known as the Queen of the Seas, have sent out an SOS to the highest office in the land as the vessel faces the threat of eviction. In addition to President Joe Biden, the SS United States Conservancy has sent a plea for help to the U.S. Secretary of the Navy and members of Congress, describing how the ship is “under the imminent threat of eviction and destruction,” appealing to their patriotism.
CITY & STATE PA: Elected leaders must act now to save the SS United States
February 2, 2024 - In 1812, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania nearly demolished Independence Hall. Political leaders sought to raze the iconic building and carve up its land for the highest bidders. Over 200 years later, another national icon in Philadelphia – the SS United States – faces a similar existential threat. And as the crowds thronging National Independence Park on a daily basis show, saving our history does not need to conflict with economic revitalization and job creation.
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: Save the SS United States, before it’s too late
January 29, 2024 - Philadelphia is home to many symbols that represent the heart of our nation, from Independence Hall to the Liberty Bell. In 1996, the city welcomed yet another iconic symbol of America’s unconquerable spirit. Rising above Pier 82 in South Philadelphia, “America’s Flagship,” the SS United States, has become a beacon of hope that gathers people together to appreciate its amazing story.
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: A hotel, speakeasy, and green space: A detailed list of what could be done with the SS United States. All it needs is a partner.
November 19, 2023 - The nonprofit caring for the SS United States, once known as the “queen of the seas” and now affectionately known as the “Ikea boat,” is still on the search for a new home for the vessel, and it’s hoping the release of a more thorough redevelopment plan will catch the eye of potential berths.
W42ndST: Plans Floated for SS United States to Become Hotel — and Berth at Pier 76
November 6, 2023 - Plans are being floated to return the historic ocean liner SS United States to the Hudson River, regenerate Pier 76 and connect the High Line to the ship transformed into a 1,000 room hotel. Now, the Conservancy has announced a plan, developed in conjunction with two prominent New York firms, RXR and MCR Hotels, that would repurpose the legendary ocean liner as a unique, mixed-use destination, including a 1,000 key hotel, numerous food and beverage destinations, multiple event venues, acres of public green space and a world-class museum.
NBC 10: SS United States could leave Philly after more than 25 years for redevelopment project
November 2, 2023 - A new proposal could the rusting remains of the SS United States returned to New York after spending nearly 30 years on the Delaware River in South Philadelphia. According to the SS United States Conservancy, the nonprofit group that owns the vessel, a recently released development plan -- developed in conjunction with two New York firms, RXR and MCR Hotels -- would see the ocean liner repurposed into a 1,000 room hotel with space for music and event venues, public green space and a museum.
USA TODAY: America’s Flagship Under Threat of Eviction, But Owners Have Big Plans
June 13, 2023 - Even a 53,000-ton symbol of American excellence is not immune to a housing crisis. Though now immobile, the nearly thousand-foot-long ship remains the largest and fastest transatlantic passenger liner ever built in America. An icon of the golden days of oceanic luxury, it was also a marvel of engineering that hosted four U.S. presidents and celebrities from Marilyn Monroe to Walt Disney.
DISCOVERY: Secrets of the SS United States
December 22, 2022 - A historic sea vessel that was once regarded as the pinnacle of American engineering now rests in the Delaware River. In this episode specialists study the fastest passenger liner ever built and a masterwork of marine construction.
CBS3: New Jersey Police Officer Visited SS United States After Battling COVID
July 16, 2022 - A New Jersey police officer who endured a grueling battle with COVID visited his ship of hope on Saturday. Manchester Township Officer Antonio Ellis spent 45 days in intensive care, including 30 days in a coma.
MARINE LINK: Op/Ed: SS United States, the Maritime Thoroughbred
January 27, 2021 - Maritime Reporter & Engineering News Magazine recently included a special column from Conservancy President Susan Gibbs that showcased the historical significance and unique attributes of the SS United States. Her piece highlighted the reasons that America's Flagship is "more than a symbol of our nation’s post-war strength and global reach... and remains a singular and unrivaled marine engineering and design achievement."
Gibbs' column was authored in response to another opinion piece that claimed that the vessel that bears her nation’s name was merely "an emotional fabrication," and "nothing special." In her op-ed about the nation's "Maritime Thoroughbred," Gibbs says, "More than any other vessel, the SS United States remains a symbol of American resilience. She has stood the test of time."
CNN TRAVEL: SS United States - The mighty ship that broke all the records -- then was left to rust
December 16, 2020 - At the age of 10, David Macaulay immigrated to America from England in 1957 with his mother, brother, and sister aboard the SS United States -- a massive, gleaming ocean liner that had been in operation for just five years, and would remain in service only another 12.
NEWSDAY: RXR to Convert Mothballed Ocean Liner to Dockside Hotel, Entertainment Venue
Mar. 10, 2020 - A prominent Long Island development firm has agreed to renovate the mothballed ocean liner United States to convert it into a dockside hotel, museum and entertainment and cultural center.
FOX NEWS: Race to save 'America's flagship' the SS United States
Jan. 26, 2018 - The 65-year-old luxury cruise liner that bears the name of this nation, floats rusting in a Philadelphia shipyard.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: The World’s Fastest Ocean Liner May Be Restored to Sail Again
Feb. 8, 2016 - In July 1952, on its maiden voyage, the S.S. United States shattered the record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic by a passenger ship, steaming from New York to Le Havre in less than four days. In 1969, when it went into dry dock in Newport News, Virginia, and its crew members left their belongings in their cabins, not knowing they’d never sail on it again, it still held the record. And it still does today—though it’s been retired for nearly 47 years, and motionless at a pier in Philadelphia for nearly 20.
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Donations Help Ocean Liner Fend Off the Scrapyard
Nov. 24, 2015 - For now, at least, the next port of call for the S.S. United States — the fastest oceanliner ever built — will not be the scrapyard, thanks to an outpouring of donations from ship lovers around the world.
ITV: Scrapyard beckons SS United States but surely the great ocean liner is worth saving
Oct. 16, 2015 - Merely to look at her graceful lines is to be carried back to another era. A time of American glamour, of endless opportunities, and of engineering prowess. In a word, she is magnificent. The SS United States was a post-war symbol of American pre-eminence.
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Friends of the S.S. United States Send Out a Last S.O.S.
Oct. 8, 2015 - A Titanic-sized supership that once ferried presidents, Hollywood royalty, actual royalty and even the Mona Lisa has a place in the history books as the fastest oceanliner in the world. The owners are now racing to avoid having the ship, the S.S. United States, relegated to the junk heap.
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS: Desperate Pleas to Save iconic SS United States From the Scrap Pile
Oct. 26, 2015 - In its heyday it was the fastest of passenger ships and entertained presidents and royalty alike — now it’s just days away from the junkyard, if help isn’t on the way.
ASSOCIATED PRESS TV: Supporters of Historic SS United States Send SOS
Oct. 15, 2015 - The historic SS United States is sending out what may be its final distress call. The onetime luxury liner could be sold for scrap unless a preservation group can raise enough money to save it by the end of the month.
THE WASHINGTON POST: Crumbling ghost ship, SS United States, fights to return from the brink of the grave
Jul. 31, 2014 - Susan L. Gibbs, wearing a sleeveless blue dress and sandals, holds a small flashlight as she descends into the interior of the crumbling transatlantic ocean liner.
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Keeping a Historic Ship Afloat
Jul. 16, 2014 - Once upon a time, it carried princes and potentates across the Atlantic in high style and at great speed.
ASSOCIATED PRESS: Author makes pitch for saving SS United States
Mar. 6, 2014 - Best-selling author and illustrator David Macaulay made a case Thursday for saving the SS United States, a once-majestic ocean liner that has been deteriorating for years at a pier along the Delaware River.
CNN: Sending out an SOS for 'America's flagship'
Apr. 7, 2013 - For me, touring the SS United States felt kind of like I was exploring my grandmother's attic for the first time, not knowing what I'd find. The ship offers lots of room for surprises. It stretches the length of New York's Chrysler Building and is 100 feet longer than the Titanic.
CBS NEWS: Trying to Save an American Icon
Feb. 17, 2013 - If you ever find yourself south of downtown Philadelphia, in the parking lot of a strip mall, take a look past the buzzing traffic. There, chained to an idle dock, floats a legend -- forlorn and largely forgotten.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Of Men and Ships
Dec. 17, 2012 - I could lie and claim the reason I went down to Philadelphia recently to visit the SS United States is because the group trying to save the ocean liner dreams of setting it up in New York as a museum, hotel, offices, a shopping mall or all of the above. And because this is a column whose ostensible subject is New York City.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Second Act for S.S. United States?
Jul. 1, 2010 - Conservationists have big dreams for the S.S. United States, the fastest ocean liner in the world. The luxury liner set a trans-Atlantic speed record in 1952, but has been docked unused in Philadelphia for years.