In a long-anticipated milestone in the effort to save and redevelop the legendary ocean liner SS United States, the SS United States Conservancy announced at a February 1, 2011 press conference that it will purchase the nation's historic "ship of state" from its owners Norwegian Cruise Line/Genting HK. "We are one big step closer to ensuring that this great symbol of American innovation is permanently preserved," said Susan Gibbs, the Conservancy's board president, whose grandfather, William Francis Gibbs, designed the legendary liner.  "Now that we have secured title, we will accelerate our efforts to redevelop the nation's flagship as a multi-purpose waterfront destination with dynamic hotel, retail, educational and museum offerings.  To succeed, we will tap into the same "can-do" spirit and ingenuity that the ship has embodied since her first splash in 1952."

In July 2010, the Conservancy announced a pledge of $5.8 million by Philadelphia philanthropist H. F. "Gerry" Lenfest to purchase and maintain the vessel for 20 months.  Owners Norwegian Cruise Line/Genting Hong Kong entered an exclusive purchase option with the Conservancy last year, graciously declining a bid twice as high from a vessel scrapper, in order to support the Conservancy's efforts.

Lenfest underscored the importance of the ship by stating, "She is worth keeping.  This ship is an iconic part of American maritime history and if there's any chance at all that she can be saved, we should take that chance."  Lenfest is a retired Navy Reserve captain and major maritime enthusiast whose father, a naval architect, designed components of the SS United States.  He has been a visionary in his support for the ship.

Aiding the successful  purchase was  Francis X.  Nolan, III, a New York based partner in the Global Transportation Finance Practice at the law firm of Vedder Price P.C., and Christopher L.  Bell, a Washington, D.C. based partner in the Global Environmental Practice of the law firm of Sidley Austin LLP, who worked tirelessly, and pro bono, to effect the sale. Noland negotiated the complicated contracts and other documents necessary to our success while Bell led the effort on the environmental side, including complex discussions with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and working closely with ship technical consultants.

To date, New York, Philadelphia, and Miami have expressed an interest in the vessel.  The total cost to permanently dock the ship is estimated to be a couple of hundred million dollars but that's comparable to land-based development on a similar scale, says Lenfest.  “We're completely committed to accomplishing this and there's no question that we'll succeed."

Construction of America's superliner took only two years and four months.  Keel number 488 was laid in slipway number 10 at Newport News in February of 1950 and the ship was delivered to United States Lines in June of 1952.

About the SS United States . . .

After a construction span of two years and four months at the Newport News & Shipbuilding Co., the 53,239 gross-ton vessel was delivered to United States Lines and launched in 1952. The ship is widely considered to be the greatest ocean liner ever built.  Four U.S. presidents (Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Clinton as a young boy) and countless celebrities, royalty and political figures in addition to innumerable American and foreign passengers traveled on the ship during her 400 mishap-free voyages. The ship also served in the Navy Reserve Fleet as a convertible troop ship and Cold War weapon able to carry an army division 10,000 miles without refueling.

The liner won the Blue Riband away from the Queen Mary on her July 1952 maiden voyage from New York to England, often exceeding 36 knots with no apparent vibration to the stern. She crossed at 35.59 knots and the westbound return voyage the ship sailed at 34.51 knots. She retained the Blue Riband throughout her 17 years of service; and to this day, no other passenger ship has bested her.

With the onset of the age of jet plane travel in the 1960s, passenger revenue drastically declined and in November 1969, after a successful 17-year run, it was announced that the ship would be withdrawn from passenger service and she was laid up indefinitely in Norfolk, Virginia.

She was bought by the US Maritime Administration in 1973 for $12 million. The ship was hermetically sealed by the United States Navy to ensure a minimum of degradation while laid up in the Reserve Fleet. By 1978 the military had determined that it had no use for the huge ship and MARAD offered the vessel for sale. Because of previously classified engineering features, developed in conjunction with the U.S. military, the stipulation was made that the ship could not be sold to foreign interests.

The vessel was purchased by developer Richard Hadley of Seattle, Washington, who intended to restore it to active cruise service in U.S. waters under a condominium time-sharing arrangement. When financing collapsed, the ship's interiors and fittings were auctioned off in 1984 to pay creditors. The ship would change hands into a consortium owned by Fred Mayer, and several companies expressed an interest in acquiring the liner and returning it to active sea service. The United States was towed to Europe where removal of significant quantities of asbestos was undertaken.

Shipyard authorities eventually seized the ship for non-payment related to the hazardous materials removal, and Philadelphia businessman Edward Cantor stepped in and brokered a deal to resolve the ship's outstanding debt. Cantor arranged for the ship to be towed back to its home country where the faded SS United States arrived in Philadelphia in July 1996 and has remained docked there ever since. In 2003 Cantor died, leaving the future of the ship in seemingly uncertain straits.

After years of speculation, including considerable talk of the vessel's sale for scrapping late in 2002, it was announced in the spring of 2003 that Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) had purchased the ship as part of a multi-ship plan to create an American-flagged cruise service. That same year, NCL also bought the Independence for $4 million with plans to add the vessel to its U.S.-flagged fleet, and planned to have the ship carrying passengers by 2004. However, the ship continued to degrade and was renamed the Oceanic in 2006 without ever sailing for NCL and was subsequently sold by parent company Star Cruises Ltd. to an undisclosed buyer

 In June 2004, NCL renamed its Norwegian Sky as Pride of Aloha and transferred the ship to the NCL America division, and reflagged the cruise ship as a US vessel with an American crew. The company also stated that the SS United States, due to the extensive nature of the refit required, would be the last vessel to be rehabilitated into their cruise itinerary by 2010.

During this time, extensive feasibility studies were made, each which found the SS United States to be in remarkable structural condition despite her deteriorated outward appearance. However, the late-2000s recession greatly hurt the cruise industry, and in January 2009, NCL announced that it would no longer pursue a refit of the SS United States and that it was offering the vessel for sale. After the ship had been listed for sale for a year, in early 2010 NCL/Genting Hong Kong announced that it would be accepting bids from scrappers.

After this announcement the SS United States Conservancy launched a major campaign, "Save Our Ship", to raise funds and awareness in support of the vessel.

Despite the good news, the future of the ship is still not secured. “As we've said many times before, though, the ship is not yet saved,” said SS United States Conservancy Executive Director Dan McSweeney, at the time of the announcement of the NCL sale,  “We need to be very clear about this. Gerry Lenfest's generous gift has simply bought us time in which to develop a public-private partnership leading to a self-sustaining stationary attraction that honors the ship's history and legacy.  If that doesn't occur in the next 20 months we may, once again, find ourselves on the edge of a cliff.  In that light, the Conservancy pledges to act as effectively as possible in establishing a dignified and successful second career for the Big Ship.”

For more information about the United States Conservancy, or to make a donation, visit

http://www.ssunitedstatesconservancy.org.

                                                                                                -- PW Mooney

Photos courtesy of the SS United States Conservancy