Plan Philly Picks Up the Plight of the SS United States

Would You Let This Happen to the Statue of Liberty?

February 11, 2009

Author Steven Ujifusa, who’s forthcoming book about the SS United States is due out in 2010, has contributed a thorough look at the plight of our nation’s flagship HERE.

WHYY has also picked up the story, including the preview from SS United States: Lady in Waiting.  Their coverage is available HERE.

The Conservancy’s statement regarding this coverage was either abbreviated in these articles or linked to as a separate document, so we have made it available in full below.  

Statement from the SS United States Conservancy:

The SS United States Conservancy was contacted by Norwegian Cruise Line in January.  At that time, we were told that the SS United States was going to be listed for sale and that we were being offered the right of first refusal for purchasing the ship and the opportunity to find a separate purchaser.  We were not told that “all options for the ship are being evaluated”, as a recent media statement from the company conveys.  Directly after this communication, we began researching issues related to ownership, legalities, and potential legislative protections.  In addition, we contacted a variety of potential purchasers in the commercial market and informal advisors to our group in a position to offer counsel on market conditions. 

The Conservancy quickly realized that in the current economic climate, identifying a single investor able to raise the capital necessary to fully finance the ship’s conversion was extremely unlikely, so an outreach plan was devised to help leverage existing contacts in the media, preservation, legislative, investment, and legal arenas with the intent of helping to devise a plan to ensure the preservation of the ship’s physical structure.

At this juncture, the Conservancy feels the most likely course of action for saving the ship is to develop a public-private partnership with interested government officials, preservationists, and investors.  We plan to work with interested parties to conduct a thorough process to establish the most viable plan for accomplishing this mission and we invite anyone interested in joining in this effort to participate.  We will communicate about this effort mainly through the organization’s blog, located at http://ssunitedstatesconservancy.org/SSUS/blog/ .

It is important to note that the Conservancy appreciates NCL’s communication with us on this critical issue.  The SSUSC has had a productive working relationship with NCL for five years and we welcome continued dialogue.  Further, we think it’s possible for all relevant stakeholders and agendas to develop a consensus on how to treat the ship from this point forward.  Though we are not sure it is being considered, selling the ship to scrappers is simply not in anyone’s interest.  We look forward to helping determine exactly how this great symbol of America is preserved for future generations while establishing a successful model of revenue generation and self-sufficiency.

Dan McSweeney, SS United States Board of Directors, whose father immigrated to America to work aboard the SS United States