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SS United States could be sunk off Florida coastline as part of artificial reef, sources say
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — In keeping with the Sept. 12 court-imposed eviction from its pier in South Philadelphia, the SS United States very well may be sunk off the Okaloosa County, Fla. coast as part of an artificial reef, CBS News Philadelphia has learned.
The county’s board of commissioners is expected to take up the matter at a meeting on Tuesday afternoon, according to sources, as well as public meeting agendas and briefing documents.
A spokesperson for the SS United States Conservancy said a short time ago by phone that the organization has had conversations with a handful of Florida counties because of the court’s deadline for the ship to leave Pier 82.
That deadline, sources say, has left the conservancy furiously trying to locate a temporary or permanent pier after the court declined to allow the historic ocean liner to remain longer at Pier 82.
Sources say sinking the ship, once properly converted and meets stringent environmental regulations, is an alternative to outright scrapping the vessel.
The SS United States Conservancy declined to comment further on the matter. Sources cautioned a number of contingencies remain unresolved and that sinking the ship is not a “done deal.”
For decades, the ship has loomed large along the South Philadelphia horizon, just north of the Walt Whitman Bridge and towering over a nearby Ikea parking lot.
CBS News Philadelphia
There were grand plans for a “reimagined” SS United States. Still, time has been running out for the vessel after Penn Warehousing, the owner of Pier 82, filed a federal lawsuit seeking a significant rent increase. While the judge denied the increase, a mandatory eviction date was set for the ship, which is now less than two weeks away.
Moving the ship is expected to be an intensive process, with coordination between the port, the U.S. Coast Guard and Delaware River tides.
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Yellowstone hiker burned when she falls into scalding water near Old Faithful, park officials say
Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. — A New Hampshire woman suffered severe burns on her leg after hiking off-trail in Yellowstone National Park and falling into scalding water in a thermal area near the Old Faithful geyser, park officials said.
The 60-year-old woman from Windsor, New Hampshire, along with her husband and their leashed dog were walking off a designated trail near the Mallard Lake Trailhead on Monday afternoon when she broke through a thin crust over the water and suffered second- and third-degree burns to her lower leg, park officials said. Her husband and the dog weren’t injured.
The woman was flown to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho for treatment.
National Park Service / Jacob W. Frank
Park visitors are reminded to stay on boardwalks and trails in hydrothermal areas and exercise extreme caution. The ground in those areas is fragile and thin and there’s scalding water just below the surface, park officials said.
Pets are allowed in limited, developed areas of Yellowstone park but are prohibited on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry and in thermal areas.
The incident is under investigation. The woman’s name wasn’t made public.
This is the first known thermal injury in Yellowstone in 2024, park officials said in a statement. The park had recorded 3.5 million visitors through August this year.
Hot springs have injured and killed more people in Yellowstone National Park than any other natural feature, the National Park Service said. At least 22 people have died from hot spring-related injuries in and around the 3,471-square-mile national park since 1890, park officials have said.