Inside head-scratching mission to MOVE 1,000ft abandoned cruise ship after it’s ordered out of dock over rent dispute
AN ABANDONED cruise liner has been ordered to ship out after a federal court judge ruled it had to go.
The owners for the derelict 1,000 foot ship will need to find the historic vessel a new home after they stopped paying rent in 2021.
Once considered a beacon of American engineering, which once doubled as a military vessel that could carry thousands of troops, the USS United States now sits as a reminder of a bygone era.
In it’s hey day, the ship boasted four separate classes of ticket, including first class, cabin class, tourist class and the most prestige of them all, suites, which included four beds, three bathrooms and a living room.
Christened in 1951, the once luxurious cruise ship still holds the transatlantic speed record after it reached 36 knots (41mph)
On its maiden voyage in 1952, the cruise ship crossed the Atlantic in three days, 10 hours and 40 minutes, beating the previous record by the RMS Queen Mary by 10 hours.
Now left in a state of disrepair, the SS United States has until September 12 to leave its berth on the Delaware River in Philadelphia, America.
The decision by U.S District Judge Anita Brody put an end to the years-old dispute between the conservancy that owns the cruise liner and its landlord Penn Warehousing.
The conservancy had refused to pay the increased $1,700 (£1431) daily dock fee after it doubled in price in 2021.
The fee was previously set in 2011 at $850 per day (£670), which they had continued to pay.
The dock owners terminated the lease in March 2022.
The judge’s decision means the 1,000 foot ship will now have to find a new home.
Conservancy president and granddaughter of the ships designer, Susan Gibbs told the Philadelphia Inquirer the judge’s window gave them a limited window to move the derelict ship.
She said: “It’s a very limited window to find a new home for the SS United States and raise the resources necessary to move the ship and keep her safe.
“Besides finding a new home, the conservancy also must obtain funds for insurance, tugs, surveys and dock preparations for a move.”
Attorney for Penn Warehousing Craig Mills said it was time to acknowledge the unavoidable.
He said: “The best hope of everyone involved was that the conservancy could successfully re-purpose the ship.
“But after decades of decay and delay, it is time to acknowledge the unavoidable and return Pier 82 to productive commercial service.”
The ship made its 400th voyage in 1969 and was later sold off.
Since then, the ship has bounced around from owner to owner until it was given a lifeline by SS United States Conservancy in 2011.