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The SS United States. ( ED HILLE / Staff Photographer ) ED HILLE / Staff
Photographer
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The conservancy that owns the SS United States, a
former queen of the sea that now rusts at a South Philadelphia dock, intends to
retain a broker to explore selling the ship to a metals recycler.
The group said on its website and in interviews
Wednesday that it has never been closer to losing the ship to the scrap yard,
despite making progress toward its potential redevelopment.
It costs more than $60,000 a month to care for the
vessel, and while fund-raising efforts have met that, "the financial
burdens imposed by the ship's ongoing expenses have become unsustainable,"
the statement said.
The group made similar declarations a year ago,
saying in August 2014 that crucial decisions about the fate and future of the
ship would have to be made that fall. In February, the nonprofit said it had
received an anonymous $250,000 donation.
Susan Gibbs, the conservancy's executive director,
said Wednesday that the quarter-of-a-million-dollar donation helped keep the
effort afloat, but financial pressures have continued to grow.
"We're not crying wolf," she said.
"We've reached a point at which we are compelled to explore this 'negative
outcome.' We're hoping we can pull off an eleventh-hour save."
Gibbs could not say how much money was being sought.
"We need time," she said, citing ongoing
plans to place a refurbished United States on the New York City waterfront.
"We need to achieve a sustainable path forward."
The years-long effort to save the ship has brought donations
from across the country and from nearly 40 countries. "It's wrenching that
despite this support, it's not yet enough," Gibbs said.
The conservancy could envision selling the United
States to a new owner, while maintaining an onboard role in telling the
historic story of the ship, Gibbs said.
The statement posted online said, "If donors or
investors step forward by the end of the month who are ready, willing, and able
to help the conservancy, America's flagship could still be saved."
Without that, "we will have no choice but to
negotiate the sale of the ship to a responsible U.S.-based recycler" by
Oct. 31.
The conservancy is going ahead with plans for an Oct.
29 fund-raiser at the Union League.
Last year, local businesspeople suggested a plan to
turn the ship into a floating hotel, anchored beside the Harrah's casino in
Chester. Others said the conservancy has gotten nowhere despite years of
effort, and it was time for new owners.
For nearly 20 years, the United States has cast a
shadow over Pier 82, moored there after being saved from scrapping and with
hopes of a lavish redesign and rebirth.
In its day, the United States was a marvel, both
luxury liner and secret weapon: It could quickly be turned into a troop ship
able to transport 15,000 soldiers up to 10,000 miles without refueling.
The ship's 1952 maiden voyage shattered the
trans-Atlantic speed record, which it still holds. It sailed 400 times from New
York to Europe and other destinations, ferrying nobility and immigrants, along
with Presidents Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy.
"It's one of a kind, unique on the Earth,"
Gibbs said. "Hopeful donors, or investors, or political leaders will take
notice and help us save our ship."
Source:
philly.com. 8 October 2015
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