SS United States: Historic ocean liner completes journey from Philadelphia to Mobile, Alabama

MOBILE, Al. - The SS United States has completed its voyage from Philadelphia to Mobile, Alabama, where it will be prepped to become part of the world's largest artificial reef.

The historic ship spent over a week being tugged down the East Coast after it ceremoniously left its pier in South Philadelphia where it had been docked for decades.

"The SS United States will never stop teaching us about American pride, purpose, and possibility." Warren Jones from the SS United States Conservancy said. 

The backstory:

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, it shattered the transatlantic speed record in both directions, when it reached an average speed of 36 knots, or just over 41 mph.

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.

She became a reserve ship in 1969, spending her retirement years on Philadelphia's Delaware waterfront.

After several different plans for the ship over the years fell through, it was sold last to Okaloosa County, Florida to become part of the world's largest artifical reef.

With help from tug boats, the ocean liner was pulled down the Delaware River last Friday and out to sea where it voyaged down the East coast and around Florida.

What we know:

Tug boats helped pull the ship down the Delaware River last month and into the open water where it spent over a week on its 1,800-mile journey to southern waters.

The ship's unmistakable silhouette was spotted several times on the horizon during its voyage, and crew members shared a ghostly nighttime image of the ship.

Organizers say the transatlantic speed record holder was true to its title and arrived off the coast of Alabama ahead of schedule early Monday morning.

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SS United States appears ghostly in photo from voyage to become artificial reef

It's been a week since the SS United States left its Philadelphia pier for the last time after it was sold to a Florida county to become part of an artificial reef.

Now in Alabama, organizers say the SS United States will "undergo preparations for her deployment as the "World’s Largest Artificial Reef off Florida’s Gulf Coast."

Okaloosa County, Florida purchased the ship to sink off the coast of Destin-Fort Walton Beach as part of the artificial reef project. 

Upon completion, which is expected to take more than a year, the reef will also features a "unique shoreside museum and visitor’s center."