‘Contingent contract’ could turn SS United States into world’s largest artificial reef in Destin-Fort Walton, Florida [Video]

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — The SS United States could soon have a new resting place — at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of the Florida panhandle.

The worn-out ship is under a contingent contract with Okaloosa County, Florida, to potentially turn it into the world’s largest artificial reef in Destin-Fort Walton Beach.

However, the SS United States Conservancy, which owns the 1,000-foot vessel, posted on social media that “the next chapter of the ship’s history is still being written.”

The massive vessel — which is over 100 feet longer than the Titanic — has been court-ordered to move out of a Philadelphia port along the Delaware River, where it has been for nearly 30 years. The ocean liner, which still holds the transatlantic speed record it set more than 70 years ago, must leave its berth by Sept. 12.