SS United States Goes Under in the Gulf After Hours Afloat, and Divers Now Wait for the Survey
The 990-foot liner slipped under off Destin on Wednesday night, a day early because of wind. Where it lies, and when divers may visit, depends on a survey.
Thursday, November 12, 2026/2 min read
The SS United States refused to go quietly. After a day of flooding that ran hours past the schedule, the 990-foot ocean liner slipped beneath the Gulf of Mexico just before 10 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday 11 November, according to 6abc's live coverage. That is about 9 p.m. local time at the site, roughly 22 nautical miles southwest of Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
This is how it stood at 09:50 UTC on Thursday 12 November. Officials had not yet said that the ship had touched the seafloor, and no date has been confirmed for recreational divers.
How did the SS United States sink?
Okaloosa County moved the sinking up from Thursday to Wednesday because of heavy winds in the forecast, gCaptain reported, and cancelled a planned sendoff ceremony. A live blog from the afternoon shows the start slipping, a fire boat pumping water into the hull and then two valves, and later all of them, being opened before crews left the ship.
There were no explosives. County spokesperson Nick Tomecek told 6abc that federal environmental and explosives rules prohibit them, so crews instead cut 10-by-10-foot holes in the decks, removed more than 400 portholes and took out the boilers' water-cooling tanks so the hull could flood. The ship stayed afloat until after dark. In Tomecek's words, she was designed to be unsinkable, and that had given his crews challenges.
How deep is the SS United States wreck and who can dive it?
The plan is for the liner to rest upright in about 180 feet (55 metres) of water, with the top deck around 60 feet (18 metres) down. That upper level is shallow enough that 6abc described it as within reach of inexperienced divers, though the ship's size and distance offshore make trip choice a matter of training and experience. The county puts the project at about $13.5 million, with the aim of building habitat and a year-round dive destination.
When can divers go? The earlier plan pointed to dawn on Thursday, but local operators now expect a wait. Kerry Freeland of Dive Pros and Niuhi Dive Charters told WEAR-TV that divers will wait at least 24 hours so the wreck can settle, because a ship hitting the bottom could dislodge equipment and release air violently. He said divers have already signed up for Friday. Nothing is official until the county announces it.
What happens next on the reef?
Survey divers will first determine where the ship actually lies, and the proposed coordinates of 30 degrees 07.148 minutes north, 86 degrees 46.755 minutes west are subject to that check, per the live blog. Marine biologist Mackenzie Rothfus told WEAR that algae, coral and other life will take hold over the next couple of months, drawing small fish first and larger species later.
For anyone planning a trip, the sensible course is to wait for the county's own notice on access, conditions and charters, then choose an operator whose trips match your certification. This is journalism, not instruction, and diving the wreck belongs with a certified instructor and an agency-approved operator.
The first confirmed survey result, and the county's announcement of an opening date, are the next things to watch.
Published in The Outspoken Digest
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