Historic ocean liner docked in Philadelphia is fighting for its survival

“America’s Flagship” is being evicted. 

That is the current situation the SS United States faces in a yearslong dispute with its landlord, a warehousing company in Philadelphia. The historic ship is the largest ocean liner ever constructed in the United States and the record holder for the fastest average speed during a trans-Atlantic voyage. It is currently docked along the Delaware River by an old warehouse in South Philadelphia. The ship has until Sept. 12 to develop a viable alternative solution to remain there or find a new home. 

In June, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled that the SS United States had to find a new home. The conflict stems from a decision by Penn Warehousing in August 2021 to significantly increase the price it was charging for the ship to be docked at its location. The SS United States Conservancy was being charged $850 per day to dock the vessel before Penn Warehousing sought to increase that amount to $1,700 daily. Penn Warehousing terminated the docking agreement in 2022, and a lawsuit was eventually filed.

“Today, America’s Flagship is in grave danger,” Susan Gibbs, president of the SS United States Conservancy, wrote in an op-ed earlier this year. “Without notice, the vessel’s landlord, which leases the pier from the Port of Philadelphia, doubled the ship’s docking fee during the pandemic. Then, they issued an eviction order.”

“The SS United States Conservancy – the national nonprofit organization that has tended to the ship for over a decade – is facing an enormous financial challenge as its long-term plans to renovate the vessel advance,” Gibbs wrote. “Unless America’s Flagship finds a new home – and fast – it will not survive.” 

The decision by U.S. District Judge Anita Brody came after a bench trial in January 2024, during which Brody suggested that the two sides work to come to a new mutual agreement for the daily docking fee instead of relying on the court’s decision. When no agreement could be reached, Brody ruled that Pennsylvania contract law stipulated that Penn Warehousing had a right to terminate the lease with reasonable notice. Additionally, Brody ruled that the conservancy refusing to pay the new rate was not a breach of contract or required damages to be paid to Penn Warehousing. 

However, at this point, Penn Warehousing is just looking to move on from the SS United States.

“The best hope of everyone involved was that the conservancy could successfully repurpose the ship,” said Craig Mills, Penn Warehousing’s attorney. “But after decades of decay and delay, it is time to acknowledge the unavoidable and return Pier 82 to productive commercial service.”

The ruling to evict the SS United States from its current location threatens its future existence. If the conservancy is unable to find a new home, reach a new mutual agreement with Penn Warehousing, or find a financier to assist with its fees, the historic American vessel could be sold for scraps.

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“The ruling makes clear this iconic American symbol is in peril,” Gibbs said. William Francis Gibbs, her grandfather, was the designer of the ocean liner.

“The judge’s decision gives us a very limited window to find a new home for the SS United States and raise the resources necessary to move the ship and keep her safe,” Gibbs said. “We must do both to avoid the tragic fate that countless supporters from around the world have worked for over a decade to prevent.”

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