The historic, aging ocean liner that a Florida county plans to turn into the world’s largest artificial reef has completed the first leg of its final voyage.

The S.S. United States, a 1,000-foot (305-meter) vessel that shattered the trans-Atlantic speed record on its maiden voyage in 1952, arrived early Monday in Mobile, Alabama, nearly two weeks after departing from south Philadelphia’s Delaware River.

The ship was due to arrive at a repair facility in Mobile later Monday. Crews will spend about six months cleaning and preparing the ship before it is eventually sunk off Florida’s Gulf Coast.

The 1,800-mile (2,897-kilometer) move south started on Feb. 19, about four months after a years-old rent dispute was resolved between the conservancy that oversees the ship and its landlord. Plans to move the vessel last November were delayed over U.S. Coast Guard concerns about whether the ship was stable enough to make the trip.

Officials in Okaloosa County on Florida’s coastal Panhandle hope the ship will become a barnacle-encrusted standout among the county’s more than 500 artificial reefs and a signature diving attraction that could generate millions of dollars annually in local tourism spending for scuba shops, charter fishing boats and hotels.

Officials have said the deal to buy the ship could eventually cost more than $10 million.

The S.S. United States was once considered a beacon of American engineering, doubling as a military vessel that could carry thousands of troops. Its maiden voyage broke the trans-Atlantic speed record in both directions when it reached an average speed of 36 knots, or just over 41 mph (66 kph), The Associated Press reported from aboard the ship. The ship crossed the Atlantic Ocean 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 trans-Atlantic speed record for an ocean liner.

The S.S. United States became a reserve ship in 1969 and later bounced between various private owners who hoped to redevelop it. They eventually found their plans too expensive or poorly timed, leaving the vessel looming for years on south Philadelphia’s Delaware River waterfront.

___

Republished with permission from the Associated Press.

Post Views: 0

Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute Chair Lincoln Díaz-Balart, who served in both chambers of the Florida Legislature before winning a long-held seat in Congress, has died.

He was 70.

Díaz-Balart’s brother, U.S. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, shared word of his death Monday.

“It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Lincoln Díaz-Balart,” the post on X said.

“Defender of the silenced and oppressed, author of the democracy requirement for the lifting of U.S. sanctions against the Cuban dictatorship, and the author of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NCARA), Lincoln’s legacy of achievement will endure for generations and continue through the work of the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI) which he founded in 2023.

“Lincoln’s profound love for the United States, and his relentless commitment to the cause of a free Cuba, guided him through his life and 24 years in elected public service, including 18 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. … We will miss him infinitely.”

___

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Post Views: 0

A South Florida Republican invoked Russian foreign policy going back to World War II in his critique of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday.

Responding to a question about Hegseth’s announcement that the U.S. Cyber Command would pause offensive efforts against Vladimir Putin’s government while a Russo-Ukrainian peace deal is being negotiated, U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez chided the Donald Trump appointee’s decision.

“I don’t know why he’s doing that. The Russians are attacking us every single day, the Chinese are attacking us every single day; I don’t think you signal to the Russians that, hey, we’re gonna unilaterally withdraw from this space. If they can keep attacking us, and they do every single day,  they should be fearful of our capacity to inflict damage on them. So I really don’t understand where that’s coming from,” Gimenez said during an interview on “Varney and Co.”

While the Miami Republican stopped short of saying the move represented what his interviewer framed as a “tilting” toward Russia, he then assigned Russia equal responsibility with Germany for major actions in World War II.

“The Russians have been aggressors for a long, long time. Remember how World War II began? A lot of people remember about Germany invading Poland. Yeah, they invaded Poland from the west. The Russians invaded Poland from the east. That’s how World War II started, and so this is not something new,” Gimenez said.

That “Russian aggression” is why “those nations there are petrified of what’s going on in Ukraine, fearing that they’re going to be next,” Gimenez added.

“We cannot show weakness with Russia,” he said. “Peace through strength, and that’s the only thing the Russians, and frankly the Chinese, understand.”

Post Views: 0