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March 2, 2010 – The SS United States Conservancy has recently learned that America’s national flagship, the SS United States, is in imminent danger of being bought by scrappers. This great vessel, which still holds the trans-Atlantic speed record, may soon be destroyed. Bids for purchase of the ship by scrappers are being collected by NCL this month.

The current owners of the vessel, Genting Hong Kong (formerly Star Cruises Limited), through its subsidiary, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), listed the vessel for sale in February 2009 but have not announced a purchaser to date. There has been acute interest in the ship by scrapping companies. While NCL graciously offered the Conservancy first right of refusal on a sale of the vessel in 2009, the Conservancy has not been in a financial position to purchase the ship outright. The organization has been working diligently to lay the groundwork for a public-private partnership that can save the ship and sustain her for generations to come.

The Conservancy understands that Genting and NCL are reluctant to continue covering the significant costs associated with maintaining the vessel in its current berth in Philadelphia and appreciates the good care the vessel has received since being purchased by NCL in 2003 with the stated intentions of returning the ship to seagoing service. The Conservancy has maintained a positive working relationship with NCL over the past seven years and looks forward to an ongoing collaboration during this critical period.

The Conservancy has begun discussions with NCL with the intent of covering some of the fees associated with maintaining the ship in Philadelphia as it finalizes plans for repurposing the ship as a stationary attraction on a large metropolitan waterfront. The Conservancy’s new national campaign is titled “Save Our Ship” (SOS) and offers a “Plank Owner” certificate for tax-deductible donations of at least $25 via its new donor website: www.ssusplankowner.org .

“The Save Our Ship campaign shows the groundswell of public support for the SS United States we’ve seen throughout the nation,” said Conservancy Board President Susan Gibbs, whose grandfather, William Francis Gibbs, designed the vessel. “We’re modeling this campaign on the public subscription which saved the USS Constitution back in the 1920s through contributions of Americans from all walks of life. There’s a reason why this ship is still with us. She absolutely must be saved for future generations.”

The SS United States was a powerful Cold War weapon disguised as a luxury ocean liner. She sailed from New York to Europe and other destinations from 1952-1969, transporting four American presidents, countless foreign heads of state, A-list celebrities, military and business leaders, artists, and diplomats, not to mention ordinary citizens and many immigrants to America during her mishap-free 400 voyages.

Conservancy Board Member Mark Perry produced an award-winning American Public Television documentary on the SS United States in 2008. This film, SS United States: Lady in Waiting, will be screened at the National Academy Museum (1083 Fifth Avenue, at 89th Street in Manhattan) on Thursday, March 11th, 7 p.m., followed by a reception and call to action. Registration is via the Conservancy website.

At the event, Walter Cronkite IV will join the Conservancy’s Advisory Council, on which his grandfather served as Honorary Chairman. Mr. Cronkite’s participation and support is emblematic of the Conservancy’s commitment to engaging a new generation of Americans about the importance of our national flagship.

All supporters are asked to visit the Conservancy’s site and register to receive updates about the Conservancy’s efforts to save the SS United States and to make a tax-deductible contribution to the SOS Campaign.

“This is both a patriotic and a practical effort,” said Conservancy Executive Director Dan McSweeney, whose father emigrated from Scotland to America to serve as a crewmember aboard the vessel. “We’re absolutely committed to saving one of the most important symbols of America in the 20th century, but we’re also talking about creating hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs when this ship is refurbished and becomes a stationary attraction in a large U.S. city. We must save this irreplaceable American icon and continue the process of establishing a public-private partnership to re-purpose her.”

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About the SS United States Conservancy:

The SS United States Conservancy’s founding Board has compiled a long track record of accomplishments on behalf of the SS United States reaching back over twenty years. The Conservancy’s leadership has been interviewed by major media outlets, published books and articles on the SS United States, organized educational meetings on the ship’s history that have drawn hundreds of participants from across the country, produced award-winning websites, produced the award-winning documentary SS United States: Lady in Waiting, and engaged in ongoing outreach and advocacy on behalf of the ship’s preservation. The Conservancy emerged as an independent 501(c)3 organization from the SS United States Preservation Society, which was instrumental in placing the ship on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sad but not unexpected. Even in France where we have a great system to preserve buildings, industrial product (Steam locos, vessels, etc...), a classification in term of "Monument Historique" (historical monument) is not synonym of safety. You have sometimes declassification, for ex. when the building, the loco is in such point of bad shape. And - even it's in USA - the poor SS United States is really in poor shape.

Too much time has been lost by many facts for Big U and now I do not see a proper solution to bring her back a new life. Rust everywhere, structure uncontrolled since 90's, interior devastated. Well, it's not a good affair even if this is a part of your historical patrimony. I do not believe in a very generous philanthropist (or a group) able to manage a such enterprise. We have in France an important historical patrimony and we are now mostly unable to insure the future (Versailles Gallery was resorted mostly by philanthropy)

I know this is a very unpopular position to take, but IMHO is the most reasonable one under the circumstances: sink the big U as a diving wreck near the Florida Keys, right next to the Vandenberg. Consider the following points:

• The ship remains intact and accessible to the public without requiring both a vast cash outlay for refurbishment and a viable business plan, neither of which appear to be feasible right now (and, of course, we can't understate the urgency of right now). Remember, a hotel plan that falls through will only delay scrapping, not thwart it. Even Queen Mary's future is precarious to a degree.

• Asbestos has already been removed, unlike the Vandenberg. This frees up money to make a more attractive purchase offer.

• The ship can be left in her original condition- not a mutation of her original state, like the Norway- and her engine room (her greatest asset) can be open to advanced divers.

• We most likely can't afford to convert the SSUS into a hotel and make it viable, but we still need a national landmark and the ecological benefits of another artificial reef much more than Alang needs scrap steel.

"Old Ironsides"
Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)"

Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high,
And many an eye has danced to see
That banner in the sky;
Beneath it rung the battle shout,
And burst the cannon’s roar; —
The meteor of the ocean air
Shall sweep the clouds no more.

Her deck, once red with heroes’ blood,
Where knelt the vanquished foe,
When winds were hurrying o’er the flood,
And waves were white below,
No more shall feel the victor’s tread,
Or know the conquered knee; —
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!

Oh, better that her shattered hulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every threadbare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,
The lightning and the gale1

Holmes' first popular poem was "Old Ironsides," which he wrote in 1830 as a patriotic protest against the decision of the Secretary of Navy to destroy the fighting ship The USS Constitution (popularly known as "Old Ironsides").

His father. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. was an Associate United States Supreme Court Justice for thirty years and became well known for his legal writings and lectures.

Holmes was known as the leader of the Boston Brahmins, a group of upper-class poets, which included other famous writers such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and James Russel Lowell. At eighty-six, Holmes had outlived many of his compatriots, and his death came suddenly in 1894.

About "Old Ironsides:"

"Old Ironsides" is the popular name for the naval ship the USS Constitution. The construction of the ship was authorized by President George Washington in 1794. The Third Congress had previously requested that some action be taken to protect American merchant ships, which were being attacked with increasing frequency by North African and British ships. The steps taken by Congress and the President essentially resulted in the creation of the US Navy. Six ships were designed by naval architect Joshua Humpries and one of the ships, the
Constitution, was to be built in Edmund Hartt’s shipyard in Boston, Masschusetts.

The construction of the Constitution cost 302,700 dollars and 2,000 trees. The construction team included Capt. Samuel Nicholson, Col. George Claghorne and Gen. Henry Jackson. The cannons on the ship were fastened with copper fixtures crafted by a blacksmith named Paul Revere, who is better known for his famous midnight ride. The ship was launched on October 21, 1797 and it has remained a part of the US Navy since, making it the oldest commissioned warship, still afloat, in the world.

Constitution was involved in many battles, inlcuding
several in the War of 1812 and used for training in the Civil War. On August 19th, 1812, the Constitution was engaged in a battle with the British ship HMS Guerriere. It is reported that sometime during the battle, a someone witnessed
a British shot that bounced off the side of the Constitution and exclaimed "Huzzah! Her sides are made of iron!" The Americans emerged from the battle victorious, and since then the ship has been popularly referred to as Old Ironsides.

In 1828, the Constitution was laid up at Boston for
two years. The Navy Yard commanders were surveying all the ships in the yard in order to determine the price to bring the ships into active
commission. Reports began to circulate that the Navy was considering scrapping the Constitution.

There was a public outcry when many heard
that the ship which bore the same name as the document that stood formerican freedom might be destroyed. Oliver Wendell Holmes also heard of the fate that might befall the ship, and he quickly came to the rescue.

He wrote a poem that struck a chord with the patriotic masses of a young America. Old Ironsides was published the next day, and it became wildly popular. In obvious response to the outcry, The Secretary of the Navy soon ordered the ship to be restored and returned to active duty.

Note, the last paragraph, obove.

1. The poem became wildly popular a few days after publication. It was widely published and circulated in the schools. I dare say the kids had some influence on their parents.
2. It generated enoung pressure from the general public to cause intervention, and success at the National Level among politicians of all leanings.
3. The Secretary of the Navy, rapidly got the message and the ruling was rapidly reversed. The ship still sails!!"

The lines could now read,
"The Harpies of Alang shall pluck, the Eagle of the Sea!" it might stir proper emotion:

Would it not have been moving to hear that poem read by Walter Cronkhite?

Would it not be great if the past were to be prologue?

[ 03-11-2010: Message edited by: Cambodge ]

[ 11-16-2010: Message edited by: Cambodge ]

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Originally posted by LeBarryboat:
I hope it isn't so....I do know of a development project that NCL may consider which will preserve the ship, but at this time it doesn't look good.

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NCL lost interest in her when NCL America flopped -well two thirds of it. It became very clear that they would not need an extra American 'Hull'.

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:

Unfortunately, in a recession (or not) no one is going to turn the SS United States into a ship, hotel or museum - just razor blades.

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The development project I'm talking about has nothing to do with making her a museum or hotel, or cruise ship.

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Originally posted by LeBarryboat:

The development project I'm talking about has nothing to do with making her a museum or hotel, or cruise ship.

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
Excluding those three options does not leave much: a coral reef, maybe?

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Malcolm, you could check out my latest talkshow episode where I speak with Mark Perry, the producer for "The Lady In Waiting"...where we talk about the SS United States. At the end of the show, I mention a project....has nothing to do with a coral reef. There is another concept that is unique...we'll see in the next couple weeks or so.

[ 03-15-2010: Message edited by: steeplechase ]

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Originally posted by mike sa:
Replacement for Space Shuttle... ?

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Originally posted by mike sa:
Replacement for Space Shuttle... ?

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Now perhaps it is a completely other project he's speaking about. But that will never happen, like all the other "unique" projects he said he has talked about with the "right persons" during the past 10 years or so.

Anyway, I'm really sad if she goes to breakers. But what else is possible. I afraid nothing at all.

[ 03-15-2010: Message edited by: Vaccaro ]

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Originally posted by Vaccaro:
If I remember correctly, a few months ago Barry talked about a project turning her (or a part of her) into a storage space somewhere or something like that.
If so, then I don't see the interest for some firms or administration to use her as such, with so much risk and maintainance upkeep anyway. Not to mention accesses and layout of a ship, even if "empty" are not the best suited for that role.

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Here in the US, most storage facilities usually end up rented out to rock bands in need of cheap rehearsal space-- rock bands sign longer leases than moving families or divorcées who only need storage for a month or two.

Imagine the novelty: "Duuuude, we're practicing on a ship!"

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Originally posted by Rex:
It's not sad - it's a part of life.

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