Okaloosa County: Forward stack removed from SS United States as reef project advances

Okaloosa County commissioners were shown progress this week on the SS United States project, including removal of the vessel's forward stack and plans to preserve the piece for a future museum while the ship proceeds toward being sunk as an artificial reef. The county's natural-resources team said contractors successfully removed the forward stack, placed it on a barge for preservation and will store it until a local museum site is ready. County staff also showed a short video of the removal and described ongoing conservation steps. County officials and staff say the project is part of a larger plan to create one of the world's largest artificial reefs from the decommissioned liner and to preserve artifacts for an eventual museum in Destin. Commissioners praised the work and asked staff to coordinate artifact donation and storage logistics. At public comment, resident Steve Perry urged clearer safety messaging to prospective dive operators and described diving risks he heard at a dive-club meeting. Perry said the contractor's statements to dive groups overstated how much hazardous material had been removed from other shipbreak locations and warned the public against messages that could encourage unsafe diving. He quoted remarks he heard: "the twisted metal at the break point in the middle of the ship will offer some interesting swim throughs, although there is a high risk of entanglement," and said such comments could increase safety risks for divers. County staff acknowledged concerns about safety and about ensuring accurate information when discussing the ship with tour or dive operators. Commissioners noted the county's responsibility to preserve artifacts and to balance public access with safety and said conservation and outreach would continue. The county did not take a formal vote on new policy changes for the ship at the meeting. Staff said the stack will be stored temporarily before transfer to a museum site when that facility is ready, and the larger reef-sinking schedule remains on the county's multi-year project timeline. Less critical details: staff said the funnel will be placed in storage until the museum is built and that contractors completed the stack removal amid challenging weather and conditions.