RESCUE OF THE SS UNITED STATES LUXURY LINER

                                                       By DELL ARTHUR

            She was once the most elegant and fastest luxury liner ever to sail the Atlantic. But now, since the adoption of jet airline travel, the SS UNITED STATES rests quietly slowly rusting away moored at a dock at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

SS UNITED STATES
Photo by Dell Arthur

With the dawn of jet aircraft traveling to Europe is only a matter of hours rather than days aboard ship. By the 1980’s the need for elegant sea travel was traded for impersonal speed. For business people time is of the essence and the faster you can get somewhere the better. But there was another time when time wasn’t so important and the thrill of luxury liner travel was in vogue.

Once glamorous movie stars, royalty including kings, princes and princesses, heads of state and millionaires walked the decks of the SS UNITED STATES enjoying the beauty of the sea and the amenity of good food and entertainment. Immigrants, not traveling first class nonetheless, also enjoyed hospitable accommodations. For everyone on board it wasn’t just a voyage but rather an adventure.

In 1952 on her maiden voyage she set a transatlantic crossing in record time—a record that still stands. But with the advent of jet planes the same trip is now made in just hours. It seems rush is more important than relaxing travel. As a consequence leisure has no place in today’s restless lifestyle.

Tied up on the Hudson River waterfront near Penn’s landing at Philadelphia you can’t miss her. As you drive along the causeway her huge faded red funnels stand out against the surrounding buildings. As you approach closer her magnificent and stylish hull begins to fill your view. Originally her paint scheme included a black hull with a red bottom, white cabins and bridge and her famous red funnels. She was the personification of beauty.

Constructed in 1949 the SS UNITES STATES is 990 feet long but seems much larger. She carried some 2,000 passengers and a crew of 1,000. Nothing was spared in either her construction or accomplishments. The ship was the pride of America liners and there was no other vessel floating like her.

But now this majestic vessel is only a shell of her former beauty. Fortunately the Hudson River is fresh water so there is no corrosion of salt to affect her. But you can see the paint is peeling away and disuse and rust has taken its toll.

Once taken out of service and put in mothball this historic ship continues to linger in limbo. At one time she was on the list for salvage but was rescued by a Philadelphia philanthropist and a conservancy group who later purchased the ship from NCL, a cruise company who was considering scrapping the liner. Any idea of returning the ship to service was only a dream. So as time went by the ship merely floated along a pier.

But then another industry surfaced—cruise ships. Today these mammoth liners ply the world around. Capable of taking aboard 3,000 passengers or more they visit nearly every country that has a sea port. There are even some vessels whose passengers live full time aboard and visit ports unknown to common name.

In New York the Queen Elizabeth II continues to sail taking passengers to elegant places. Unfortunately the Queen Mary has been converted to a hotel and is beached at San Diego, California never to sail again.

And the famed liner “France” was scrapped years ago and the only remembrance of this classic ship can only be seen in pictures.

But now it appears the SS UNITED STATES will avoid such humiliation. A new group, Crystal Cruises a luxury travel company associated with Genting Hong Kong, is now in the act. The Genting Corporation is also affiliated with the former ship’s owner NCL, and plans now call for converting the vessel for cruise liner use. Cost for renovation is estimated between $700-800 million and would require a complete remodeling.

Rather than just a transatlantic liner the vessel will be converted to an 800 passenger luxury liner befit of the most modern and luxuriant comforts. But resurrection of this massive ship won’t be easy. First of all it will be necessary to meet new environmental regulations. All of the interior will be gutted and remodeled with materials that meet with the appropriate standards. Since the ship was powered by steam engines the old ones will be replaced meeting EPA standards.

If and when the ship is returned to seaworthy service plans call for her to take passengers from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Panama Canal. No doubt this historic vessel of bygone times will again thrill passengers, tourists and ports of call as she visits exotic havens.

In keeping with her traditional color scheme of red, white and black, she will again fly the flag of her construction that of the UNITED STATES for whom she is well named.