The larger Titanic was turned into an artificial reef. Video
The passenger liner SS United States, which is larger than the Titanic, was sent to the bottom of the ocean. It should become the largest artificial reef
The historic ocean liner SS United States, surpassing the Titanic in length by more than 30 meters, was sunk at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. The ship was sent to the bottom of the ocean deliberately to turn into the largest artificial reef.
The vessel was taken to sea on November 11 at 14:40 local time (22:40 GMT), the sinking began two hours later. In the hull, holes were made, through which water gathered inside, after which the ship sank to the bottom in a vertical position
According to the Associated Press, the organizers believed that the ship will go under water in about an hour. However, the "farewell" dragged on. Finally under water SS United States was about 21:00 local time (06:00 GMT 12 November). Now the ship will rest at a depth of about 55 m, and its upper decks will be approximately 18 m from the surface of the water. The new reef will be one of the county's roughly 500 artificial reefs.
The SS United States has been described as an outstanding achievement of mid-twentieth-century engineering. It was designed in 1946, and in 1952 during its maiden voyage, the liner set a speed record when crossing the Atlantic.
The length of the SS United States is about 305 meters, the Titanic is 269 meters. At various times, the passengers of the now flooded liner were Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Marilyn Monroe, Walt Disney, Salvador Dali, Coco Chanel, etc. In 1963, the ship was carrying Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa across the Atlantic.
The SS United States decommissioned in 1969. Since then, SS United States has stood at the pier for 30 years. Organizations for the protection of historical heritage repeatedly tried to restore the ship, but in 2026 the authorities decided to turn the ship into an artificial reef.
