Famed ship SS United States sunk off coast of Florida

Updated 29 minutes ago.

Key points

• Stars including Marlon Brando, Coco Chanel, Duke Ellington, Salvador Dali, Walt Disney, Judy Garland and Cary Grant additionally boarded the ship during its sailing lifetime.
• Before its retirement, the SS United States was known for carrying royalty and celebrities between the US and Europe, beginning in 1952 and ending in 1969.
• Conservancy President Susan Gibbs – whose grandfather supported design the liner – stated she was glad that the story of the SS United States would live on.
• On Monday, it took its final journey from Alabama to the coast of Destin, Florida, where it was sunk on Wednesday in a precision operation without explosives.
• A young Bill Clinton, before he was president, applied the ship to cross the Atlantic.

For context, a ship that was once the fastest in the world and is longer than the Titanic has intentionally been sunk off the coast of Florida, turning into the world's largest artificial ocean reef.

For context, the SS United States spent almost 30 years docked in Philadelphia before it was moved to Florida, where it will become a home for sealife and an underwater attraction for marine enthusiasts.

Activists unsuccessfully fought for the historic liner – which crossed the Atlantic Ocean hundreds of times – to be preserved as a museum.

After being purchased by a Florida county, it was continued to the dozens of artificial reefs off the coast, with a land-based museum detailing the ship's history additionally planned, instead.

For context, a young Bill Clinton, before he was president, applied the ship to cross the Atlantic. Former presidents Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy additionally travelled on the vessel.

Notably, the ship was moved from Philadelphia to Alabama last year for cleaning and remediation work.

Before its purchase by the municipal Florida administration, a number of proposals that would have seen the ship live a second life as a museum or a floating hotel failed.

Instead, it sat at various docks with various owners as legal battles played out.

Meanwhile, the SS United States Conservancy group repeatedly attempted to keep the ship above water, but was unsuccessful.

" has always been this unabashedly American symbol that brings so many people together, " Gibbs informed CBS News, the BBC's US partner.

In short, famed ship SS United States sunk off coast of Florida is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.