Two locations are under consideration as permanent home for the SS United States, the 1952 built Trans-Atlantic liner that has been out of service since 1969, says head of the redevelopment project.

"A proposal to site the ship next to the highly successful Harrah's Casino in Chester, PA offers a synergistic approach to the preservation of the ship. In this plan, the SS United States would house a hotel, dining facilities, event spaces, and a world-class museum. The ship would feature significantly in larger, ongoing community and economic development efforts in this historic city," said Dan McSweeney, Managing Director of SS United States Redevelopment Project.

"A proposal to site the ship on the Hudson River in Midtown Manhattan could tie into other major development projects occurring in this neighborhood. This plan would return the SS United States to her original home port in a complex featuring hotel, dining, retail, event space, state-of-the-art experiential museum, and other uses. The plan calls for maximizing green energy systems," he said in a statement.

"As planned, we will announce a selected development partner at the end of our Request for Proposals process in November," he continued, adding that more than 200 firms were contacted with news of an intention to re-purpose the SS United States as a permanently moored adaptive mixed-use development.


"Out of the dozen serious respondents, we have selected two finalists to submit full proposals and we are working closely with each to ensure comprehensive plans are presented to our Blue Riband Panel for review," McSweeney said.

SS United States was built at the Newport News and it entered service in the summer of 1952. On its maiden voyage, it win the Blue Riband, the title of fastest Atlantic crossing by a passenger vessel, in both directions at average speeds in excess of 35 knots.

On its trials, the ship reportedly achieved a top speed of 41.77 knots, when is four sets of Westinghouse steam turbines generated a total output of 251,785 shp.

The ship remained in service until late 1969, when rising costs and competition from airlines forced its withdrawal. Several attempts were launched by various entrepreneurs to bring the ship back to service as a cruise liner after an extensive refit, but none of them materialized in the end.