Historic cruise ship SS United States, deserted for three decades, embarks on its last trip before being intentionally sunk.

A HISTORIC cruise ship that was left to rot in a major American city for 30 years will be sunk after its final voyage.

This legendary liner once carried leaders and stars like John F. Kennedy, Walt Disney, and Marilyn Monroe across the Atlantic Ocean.

The once glorious SS United States was left to rot in a Philadelphia port for decades but has now set out on its final journey.

The 1,000-foot-long vessel is en route to the Gulf of Mexico where it will be intentionally sunk to become the world’s largest artificial reef.

During its peak in 1952, the ship, comparable in size to London’s Shard, set a new transatlantic speed record while traveling from New York to Bishop Rock in Cornwall on its first journey.

The ship completed the Atlantic crossing in an impressive three days, 10 hours, and 40 minutes, boasting an average speed of 36 knots (41mph) and surpassing the previous record established by the RMS Queen Mary in 1938.

Originally designed to accommodate up to 14,000 soldiers, the ship later transitioned to carrying affluent passengers before being abandoned in Philadelphia in 1996.

Despite its previous glory, on Wednesday, the rusting SS United States began its journey to its final destination being towed down the Delaware River and into the Atlantic.

The journey is scheduled to take two weeks as the vessel travels 1,800 nautical miles.

Upon its arrival in Alabama, a crew will strip the cruise liner bare, removing everything including the paint and anything that could be hazardous when submerged underwater.

The shell of the ship will then be altered by the marine engineering team to make wider holes for diving teams to fit through with their gear and expand the passageways and create more access points.

This process is set to take a little over a year to complete but when this is done it will be towed 20 miles out into the ocean and sunk to the bottom of the seabed near Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

Here it is hoped that it will become a new habitat for marine wildlife and a popular diving destination.

In a statement, Okaloosa County emphasised the environmental and economic potential of the project, saying: “The sunken ship will be a home for a diverse range of marine life and attract divers and anglers from around the world.”

It could also generate millions in tourism revenue, benefiting local businesses like scuba shops, fishing charters, and hotels.

“This will be an exciting addition to our artificial reefs and wrecks, and will provide essential habitat for fish,” said Jennifer Adams, Okaloosa County’s tourism director.

The project also includes plans to open a land-based museum honouring the ship’s history, funded by Okaloosa County and operated by the SS United States Conservancy.

But getting to this point has not been easy, with the final voyage delayed multiple times.

Initially the journey was delayed due to heavy storms in the Gulf of Mexico.

A fresh concern then emerged further postponing the move as officials feared the ship could smash into the huge Walt Whitman Bridge over the Delaware River.

Sources told CBS that the height of the ship’s features come within mere feet of the vast bridge.

And the Coast Guard is reportedly worried about whether the mammoth vessel can make it to Alabama in one piece.

However, The Delaware River Port Authority, which operates and maintains the bridges, was always confident that the ship would pass safely under the bridge.

It said in a statement: “We have not been informed of any changes to the previously established clearances or received notice of differences that could affect our bridges.”

Now, after four days at sea, crews are eagerly awaiting its arrival to begin the next phase of the project.

The move comes after the owners of the derelict ship were ordered to find the historic vessel a new home after they stopped paying rent in 2021.

This sparked a legal battle between the SS United States Conservancy and Penn Warehousing who owned the dock space.

Last October, it was sold to Okaloosa County in Florida for $1 million – a county that already has more than 30 vessels acting as artificial reefs.

Susan Gibbs, president of the SS United States Conservancy said: “The ship will forever symbolise our nation’s strength, innovation, and resilience.”

Gibbs, whose grandfather William Francis Gibbs designed the ship added: “We wish her ‘fair winds and following seas’ on her historic journey to her new home.”