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

The SS United States is marking the end of the first leg of its journey to becoming the world's largest artificial reef.

The SS United States began its final approach into Mobile, Alabama, Monday morning, marking the end of the first leg of its journey to becoming the world's largest artificial reef.

Okaloosa County commissioners voted in October to buy the SS United States for $10 million and use it as an artificial reef. It’s estimated that the economic benefit will be $3 million a

Dauphin Island is a haven for birdwatchers, where rare migratory species draw photographers eager for the perfect shot. But on Monday morning, the island’s skies won’t be the only spectacle worth capturing.

The ship will join Florida’s 4,300 artificial reefs—human-made places for fish and other marine life to live. How do these reefs work?

The exact location of where the SS United States will be sunk along the Gulf Coast fhas not been set, but it is expected to be about 20 nautical miles south of the Destin-Fort Walton Beach area.

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 around noon on Monday.According to Okaloosa County, the ship will begin the journey to Mobi