Coast Guard plans ‘moving safety zone’ for SS United States’ final trip

The Coast Guard says the stand-off distance is needed to ensure the safety of workers aboard the vessel and to protect spectators from hazards associated with the sinking. The SS United States, once a proud passenger liner, is seen on the Mobile River Oct. 21, 2026. The decommissioned hull has been prepared for sinking as an artificial reef off the Florida Coast. Preparations included the removal of its distinctive smokestacks. (Lawrence Specker) (Tribune News Service) — The U.S. Coast Guard has provided guidance on how close viewers can get to the SS United States as the vessel makes its final voyage before being sunk off the Florida coast. A Marine Safety Information Bulletin on the sinking was published on social media by U.S.

Coast Guard Station Panama City. The bulletin says that from the time the vessel departs from the Modern American Services of Alabama yard on the Mobile River, it will enforce a 100-yard “moving safety zone” around the hull and all vessels involved in towing it. Plans call for the 990-foot hull to depart Mobile Nov. 9, “subject to weather conditions or unforeseen delays.” The sinking is expected to take place around 10 a.m. Nov. 12. According to the safety bulletin, boaters who fail to comply with the requirements of the security zone may be subject “to a