SS United States finally sinks after delays

More than 70 years since her maiden voyage, the SS United States has reached its final destination. Crews sinking the nearly 1,000-foot-long ship off the coast of Destin, Florida, creating the world's largest artificial reef, Asher Red, joins us now from Miramar Beach. Asher, you played witness to the sinking of this massive ship. Tell us about it. Yeah, Andre, yesterday was a beautiful day to sink a ship, except crews didn't get around to doing that until nighttime after everyone left. Now, the S.S. United States did not go down without a fight, a process that was only supposed to take crews 45 minutes ended up taking eight hours. It's emotional, but there are definitely emotions churning right now. There really are. Warren Jones was just eight years old when he was a passenger on the S.S. United States in 1961. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. At the time, the 990-foot-long ocean liner was the fastest ship to cross the Atlantic at just three days, 10 hours, and 40 minutes, a record she still holds. You felt the power of those engines. Boy, they really came to life, of course, as the ship sailed past the Statue of Liberty and out into the open sea. Jones has spent the last few years trying to save the ship as a board member of the SS United States Conservancy. In a way, we're comforted that the ship... It did not go to the scrapyard. The ship's future was uncertain as she rusted in Philadelphia for nearly three decades. Private preservationists tried raising enough funds to turn the ship into a museum, but in 2024, Okaloosa County, Florida, bought her to create an artificial reef off Destin's coast. Not many people have the opportunity to say, hey boss, can I buy a ship, you know, and can I sink her and can she be the world's largest? Artificial reefs. There isn't a whole lot that grows in an area where it's just sand, but if you can put hard bottom down, then you get all sorts of encrusting organisms and you basically have the opportunity to build an entire food chain. The SS United States made her maiden voyage in July of 1952 from New York to France. She stopped sailing in 1969 because of high operating costs and the rise of airline travel. And the top of the SS United States deck is just 55 feet below the surface, making it easy for divers to get down there and witness the history for themselves. Crews even put plaques around the ship so those divers have some sort of a guide along the way. Andre? All right. Asher Red reporting for us live in Destin, Florida. Thank you so much.