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A ship that was once the fastest in the world and surpasses the Titanic in length is being sunk this Wednesday off the coast of Florida.
The goal is for it to become the largest artificial reef on the planet.
The SS United States remained docked in Philadelphia for almost 30 years before being moved to Florida, where it will serve as a habitat for marine life and become an underwater attraction for sea lovers.
Several activists fought unsuccessfully for years to preserve this historic ocean liner, which crossed the Atlantic Ocean hundreds of times, and turn it into a museum.
After being acquired by a Florida county, the ship will join the dozen artificial reefs that already exist in the area.
The creation of a museum on the mainland that will document the history of the ship is also planned.
From Dalí to Clinton
Before its retirement, the SS United States was famous for transporting royalty and celebrities between the United States and Europe from 1952 to 1969.
A young Bill Clinton crossed the Atlantic aboard the ship before becoming president. Former presidents Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy also traveled on it.
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Last year, the ship was moved from Philadelphia to Alabama to undergo cleaning and decontamination.
This Monday it undertook its last trip from Alabama towards the coast of Destin, Florida, where it will be sunk on Wednesday through a precision operation that will not require explosives.
Personalities such as Marlon Brando, Coco Chanel, Duke Ellington, Salvador Dali, Walt Disney, Judy Garland and Cary Grant also traveled on board during their years of service.
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Before Florida County acquired the ship, several proposals were made to give it a second life as a museum or a floating hotel, but none came to fruition.
Meanwhile, the famous ship was docked in different ports and passed through the hands of several owners amid various legal disputes.
The SS United States Conservancy organization tried by all means to prevent the liner from ending up underwater, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
Susan Gibbs, president of the organization and granddaughter of one of the designers of the SS United States, was pleased that the ship's history lives on.
The ship "has always been an unmistakably American symbol that unites so many people," Gibbs told CBS News, the BBC's partner in the United States.
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