Current:Home > ScamsConservancy that oversees SS United States seeks $500K to help relocate historic ship-LoTradeCoin
Conservancy that oversees SS United States seeks $500K to help relocate historic ship
View Date:2024-12-23 20:21:45
The conservancy that oversees the SS United States has launched an urgent $500,000 fundraising campaign to help cover relocation expenses for the historic ship amid its uncertain future.
The 1,000-foot ocean liner, which still holds the transatlantic speed record it set more than 70 years ago, must leave its berth on the Delaware River in Philadelphia by Sept. 12, a federal judge ruled earlier this month.
Besides finding a new home, the conservancy also must obtain funds for insurance, tugs, surveys and dock preparations for moving the ship, which is incapable of self-propulsion. The group is focusing its efforts on finding a temporary berth in the Philadelphia area or on the East Coast, and fears that if a temporary home cannot be found soon, the vessel could be lost forever.
“Our search for a new temporary or permanent location has been ongoing and began well before the litigation, but if a dock cannot be found in the coming weeks, we’ll be forced to commit to reefing or scrapping the vessel,” conservancy board member Warren Jones said in a statement posted on the group’s website.
Reefing refers to sinking the ship and turning it into an artificial reef and diving destination.
U.S. District Judge Anita Brody’s ruling ended a years-old rent dispute between the conservancy and its landlord, Penn Warehousing. It stemmed from an August 2021 decision by Penn Warehousing to double the ship’s daily dockage to $1,700, an increase the conservancy refused to accept.
When the conservancy continued to pay its previous rate, set in 2011, Penn Warehousing terminated the lease in March 2022. After much legal wrangling, Brody held a bench trial in January but also encouraged the two sides to reach a settlement instead of leaving it up to her.
She ultimately ruled that the conservancy’s failure to pay the new rate did not amount to a contract breach or entitle Penn Warehousing to damages. However, she found that under Pennsylvania contract law, the berthing agreement is terminable at will with reasonable notice.
Christened in 1952, the SS United States was once considered a beacon of American engineering, doubling as a military vessel that could carry thousands of troops. On its maiden voyage in 1952, it shattered the transatlantic speed record in both directions, when it reached an average speed of 36 knots, or just over 41 mph (66 kph), The Associated Press reported from aboard the ship.
On that voyage, the ship crossed the Atlantic in three days, 10 hours and 40 minutes, besting the RMS Queen Mary’s time by 10 hours. To this day, the SS United States holds the transatlantic speed record for an ocean liner.
It became a reserve ship in 1969 and later bounced to various private owners who hoped to redevelop it but eventually found their plans to be too expensive or poorly timed.
It has loomed for years on south Philadelphia’s Delaware waterfront.
veryGood! (883)
Related
- Will Trump’s hush money conviction stand? A judge will rule on the president-elect’s immunity claim
- These 'America's Next Top Model' stars reunited at Pamella Roland's NYFW show: See photos
- 'Choco Taco' resurrected through Taco Bell, Salt & Straw partnership, brands reveal
- That makes two! Suni Lee will join fellow Olympic champion Gabby Douglas at Winter Cup
- Jana Duggar Reveals She's Adjusting to City Life Amid Move Away From Farm
- Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce pack on the PDA. We can't stop watching.
- Cetaphil turns stolen Super Bowl ad claims into partnership with creator who accused company
- Judge to decide soon on possible NIL injunction after Tennessee vs. NCAA hearing ends
- Travis Kelce's and Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Houses Burglarized
- Cetaphil turns stolen Super Bowl ad claims into partnership with creator who accused company
Ranking
- Are Dancing with the Stars’ Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber Living Together? She Says…
- AP PHOTOS: A look at Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans through the years
- The Best Luxury Bath Towels of 2024 That Are So Soft, They Feel Like Clouds
- What's really happening with the Evergrande liquidation
- Suspected shooter and four others are found dead in three Kansas homes, police say
- Super Bowl overtime means 6 free wings from Buffalo Wild Wings: Here's when to get yours
- Kansas City mom charged after she 'accidentally placed' baby in oven, prosecutors say
- MLB offseason winners and losers: Dodgers’ $1.2 billion bonanza guarantees nothing
Recommendation
-
Candidates line up for special elections to replace Virginia senators recently elected to US House
-
North Carolina man won $212,500 from lottery game: 'I had to sit down just to breathe'
-
Jon Stewart's 'Daily Show' return is so smooth, it's like he never left
-
Katy Perry Is Leaving American Idol After 7 Seasons
-
Florida man’s US charges upgraded to killing his estranged wife in Spain
-
Hiker kills coyote with his bare hands after attack; tests confirm the animal had rabies
-
Serena Williams Shares Empowering Message About Not Having a Picture-Perfect Body
-
Everyone should attend 'Abbott Elementary'