The SS United States is on her way to a new life — quite literally. The 990-foot ocean liner arrived Monday in Mobile Bay, where work will be done before she is sunk off the coast of Okaloosa County,

The SS United States, a 1,000-foot vessel that shattered the trans-Atlantic speed record on its maiden voyage in 1952, arrived early Monday in Mobile, Ala.

After months of multiple delays, the SS United States finally left its longtime home of Philadelphia just before 1 p.m. ET Wednesday. The storied ocean liner’s next stop is Mobile, Alabama, where it will be prepared for its final mission – to become an artificial reef off the coast of the Florida Panhandle.

The United States was towed to Mobile for preparation work before it will eventually be sunk off Florida to become an artificial reef.

The SS United States is towed to Alabama and draws onlookers to the East End of Dauphin Island on Monday, March 3, 2025. The historic ocean-liner is being towed to Mobile where it will be prepared for submersion as the world's largest artificial reef off the Florida Gulf Coast near Destin-Fort Walton. John Sharp

She came to existence in the 1950s as airplane travel started reaching its peaks. She went out of commission in 1969 and was passed to different owners, eventually rotting in the port of Philadelphia. Despite efforts from a conservancy, it was agreed that the ship would take one more trip down the Atlantic into the Gulf.

The "Big U" as it's known, completed its roughly 1,800-nautical-mile journey to Mobile, Ala., around 6 a.m. Monday, a few days ahead of schedule.

The historic SS United States is seen off the coast of Palm Beach on Feb. 26, 2025 on its way to Mobile, Alabama to be cleaned before being sunk to create an artificial reef.

The SS United States is expected to arrive in Mobile, Alabama, sometime Monday. The next step? Off the coast of Destin, where it will be turned into an artificial reef.

The luxury liner SS United States departed South Philadelphia Wednesday afternoon to begin a two-week journey to its eventual destination as the world's largest artificial reef off Florida's Gulf Coast.