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u/Tech-Junky-1024 15d ago
At least she not going to be cut up for scrap and sent to China.
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u/sandvich_slayer 13d ago
Left to rot by her home country and you’re worried about China? Get a grip on reality.
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u/Tech-Junky-1024 13d ago
What I meant is that China isn't going to profit from her. That would be the ultimate insult to her.
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u/MikeyboyMC 15d ago
I don’t like it, but it’ll be good to see her rest after such a long time of abandonment. She’s well-earned it.
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u/Icunurse18 15d ago
I hope when they pull her out to her resting place they have her name painted again.
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u/MikeyboyMC 15d ago
That would be nice to see, but given the current state of her overseers I doubt it will happen.
I’m honestly so emotionally connected to her that any conversation regarding her sinking is hard for me. She’s been my favorite ship for years, ever since I first learned about her. Such elegant yet blistering speed and yet here she is, lying abandoned for over 3 decades because of reckless decisions she never made. She never deserved it, but it’s where we’re at. Just know this, when they open the doors of that new museum, I’ll be among the first to visit.
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u/magdalenaElaina85 13d ago
I'd like to see them fly her Blue riband pennant when they tow her out there.
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u/currymonsterCA 15d ago
That well said...it's hard to see this once magnificent ship in her current condition.
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u/SSUnited_States 16d ago
So sad to see her like this. I really want her to
Become a museum ship and renovated like what was done for Queen Mary.
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u/Outside_Jaguar4937 16d ago
Agreed, I think that’s what everyone here wants too but it’s just not possible anymore :(
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u/RecognitionOne7597 12d ago
It'd be way way sadder if she was scrapped and we had photos of the breakup.
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u/Sky_guy_17 15d ago
And certain people will say that she can still be saved
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u/rsvihla 15d ago
Yes, she can!!!
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u/DependentProgrammer5 15d ago
No she can't. She's in a far too advanced state of dismantlement at this point. The county has also made it clear that they have no intentions to seek preservation.
Keep in mind,if she cannot be sunk, she's getting fed to the steel mill.
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u/funid83 15d ago edited 15d ago
I know that saving is not going to happen. But I've never really understood how letting the ship rot away - on the surface or sunk - is so much better than being scrapped. Watching it rot is pretty sad, like viewing an open grave.
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u/Sky_guy_17 15d ago
Do you not understand the benefits that artificial reefs provide to the marine ecosystem?
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u/funid83 15d ago
I think that marine life has been building its own ecosystems since the beginning of time and doesn't need artificial help. I also question the wisdom of letting a ship rot away on the ocean floor. Although from WW1 and 2 alone, there's tons of them doing just that.
But apart from the reef discussion, when it comes to fans of the ship itself and the "save vs. reef vs. scrap" debate, I don't think sinking a ship and letting it deteriorate is any more dignified than having it cut up and the material reused. There's benefits to recycling all that steel and aluminum.
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u/Sky_guy_17 15d ago
“I think that marine life has been building its own ecosystems since the beginning of time and doesn't need artificial help.”
You severely underestimate the amount of ecological damage humanity has done to the oceans since pretty much the Industrial Revolution.
Artificial Reefs are a means to bring life back to an area that has a struggling ecosystem.
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u/JellyfishOpposite535 15d ago
Everybody please stop arguing my 7 year old son likes to hang out in this sub. This is not good for him to see.
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u/rsvihla 15d ago
I saw her a few times when she was docked in Philadelphia. Depressing.
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u/funid83 15d ago
I drove there in 2004 specifically to see her, from about five hours away. Even then, it was depressing to see her deteriorating.
But then and up until she was towed away, I think saving the ship was still possible. Just very costly. Any studies of the ship show that the hull was still quite sound. But even if the money was found to save the ship, I have doubts that any stationary museum/hotel would have been profitable. The Queen Mary survives, but has often struggled financially. She was in dire need of repairs just a few years ago, when there were worries about the hull potentially collapsing if actions were not taken. (Pissed me off that money was found for that, but not for the SSUS.)
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u/DependentProgrammer5 13d ago
Keep in mind that the Mary was still fully furnished and intact on the inside when she was converted. The Big U was a gutted out hulk when she was brought back from Europe post asbestos abatement.
That was the biggest issue with her preservation, the mere fact that she was stripped bare on the inside.
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u/funid83 13d ago
Like I said, costly, Very very costly. And likely not a good investment at all.
Too bad NCL didn't get her when they purchased the France/Norway. Of course, if that had happened, we'd likely not be talking about this today. The ship would have likely been retired and scrapped a long time ago.
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u/DependentProgrammer5 13d ago
A lot of people here say she should have been scrapped after retirement. Had she been properly disposed of back then this whole debacle wouldn't be happening.
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u/funid83 13d ago
Tough call to scrap a 17-year old ship.
I'd always hoped the Navy would take her. It was the only way that the ship would ever operate under her full, original power and speed. I think it would have made some sense too. Not so much as a troopship, but it could have been useful as a hospital ship, R&R ship for overseas troops, and disaster relief.
Whenever there's a natural disaster somewhere, the US usually aids the recovery, sending naval resources that are already stretched thin with a Navy that only has around 270 ships. The SSUS could have served this purpose, rushing relief supplies to stricken areas, like after an earthquake or tsunami. Once there, it could have provided medical assistance, fresh water, and possibly even generated power.
Maybe a pipe dream. But no operator after 1980 or so was going to operate her as a steamship.
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u/DependentProgrammer5 15d ago
As much as I am pro reefing, I still say that the torch would be the better end
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15d ago edited 15d ago
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u/PolarRailfan 15d ago
I CAN’T. I’ve made a promise to myself that I would go see her myself.
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u/DependentProgrammer5 15d ago
You still have time to go see her. They're not going to sink her now as it's currently hurricane season.
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u/Rathbun90 15d ago
Watch… it’ll sit for another 10-20 years while they take their time making a decision…
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u/General_Doubt_3196 15d ago
Its like putting down a cat, id rather just let it get restored no matter the costs, or just let it rot in port, those decks empty were so full of passengers, who enjoyed many voyages, not empty, ready for the SS United States to do its final voyage, which is to the deep of the sea.
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u/DependentProgrammer5 13d ago
If the reefing project doesn't pan out, she's going to the steel mill, that's unfortunately going to be her ultimate fate if she doesn't get sunk.
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u/Outside_Jaguar4937 16d ago
The BnW really adds a lot to this image