SS U.S. is one of my favorites of all time. Here with sister SS America:
She's docked in Philly, still looking regal though very rough around the edges. I hope they bring her back to glory.
SS America died prematurely of natural causes, hastened by man's poor attention.
The tow lines broke...reattach the emergency tow lines...proved unsuccessful...The ship was left adrift. On January 18, 1994 the ship ran aground off the west coast of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands...discussions between the ship's owners...the ship was left to nature, with the forward part of the ship running aground on a sandbar. Within the first 48 hours of pounding surf of the Atlantic, the ship broke in two just past the second funnel. The ship was declared a total loss on July 6, 1994. The stern section collapsed completely to port and sank in 1996, while the bow continued to remain intact. In November 2005, the port side of the bow section collapsed, which caused the liner's remains to assume a much sharper list and the remaining funnel to detach and fall into the ocean. The collapse of the port side also caused the hull to begin to break up and by October 2006, the wreck had almost completely collapsed onto its port side. In April 2007 the starboard side finally collapsed causing the wreck to break in half and fall into the sea. Throughout 2007 what little remained had been slowly disappearing beneath the waves. In 2008 the bow section completely slipped underneath the water, 14 years after first running aground.