u/MdStr_1990

This evening, Okaloosa County posted the finalized Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Florida State Historic Preservation Office. This document formalizes the County’s obligations and funding commitments required to secure the final reefing permit.

The document will be presented at the upcoming Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners Meeting on June 16, 2026.

The link to the Agenda Packet can be found at the link below (item 54 refers to SSUS):

https://okaloosacountyfl.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=14&ID=1856&Inline=True

The MOA document can be found at the link below:

https://cdn.fbsbx.com/v/t59.2708-21/722752290\_907576979052211\_2337132406875456550\_n.pdf/latest\_agenda.pdf?\_nc\_cat=111&ccb=1-7&\_nc\_sid=2b0e22&\_nc\_ohc=Ja50GlJJadEQ7kNvwFKHgDB&\_nc\_oc=Adov4jV6sT53AMTrk0qqP4A07HHSYfflEWt2nSP4zDuuf\_QDJS5p\_BbX1XXSLypsHi0&\_nc\_ad=z-m&\_nc\_cid=0&\_nc\_zt=7&\_nc\_ht=cdn.fbsbx.com&\_nc\_gid=ffuH4nyqv0FdP0HAAU9y-A&\_nc\_ss=7a338&oh=03\_Q7cD5gFuSkGVp0AjwqUCvKpc58UGg1vJgPfAyPGADdLgGpLFzw&oe=6A2D0E3A&dl=1

#SSUnitedStates

*****Link to post via Facebook:*****

This evening, Okaloosa County posted the finalized Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Florida State Historic Preservation Office. This document formalizes the County’s obligations and funding commitments required to secure the final reefing permit.

The document will be presented at the upcoming Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners Meeting on June 16, 2026.

The link to the Agenda Packet can be found at the link below (item 54 refers to SSUS):

https://okaloosacountyfl.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=14&ID=1856&Inline=True

The MOA document can be found at the link below:

https://cdn.fbsbx.com/v/t59.2708-21/722752290\_907576979052211\_2337132406875456550\_n.pdf/latest\_agenda.pdf?\_nc\_cat=111&ccb=1-7&\_nc\_sid=2b0e22&\_nc\_ohc=Ja50GlJJadEQ7kNvwFKHgDB&\_nc\_oc=Adov4jV6sT53AMTrk0qqP4A07HHSYfflEWt2nSP4zDuuf\_QDJS5p\_BbX1XXSLypsHi0&\_nc\_ad=z-m&\_nc\_cid=0&\_nc\_zt=7&\_nc\_ht=cdn.fbsbx.com&\_nc\_gid=ffuH4nyqv0FdP0HAAU9y-A&\_nc\_ss=7a338&oh=03\_Q7cD5gFuSkGVp0AjwqUCvKpc58UGg1vJgPfAyPGADdLgGpLFzw&oe=6A2D0E3A&dl=1

Mike Strasbaugh
Page Admin

Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners
#SSUnitedStates

During my recent visit to the SS United States, here are my new images of the forward No. 2 & 3 Cargo Holds, as well as the ships Brig and Morgue area.

The two forward cargo holds of the SS United States were essential to her transatlantic mail and freight operations.

Cargo Hold No. 1, located in the bow, was specifically engineered for logistical efficiency, primarily serving as a dedicated space for transporting automobiles and general break-bulk freight. This area was integrated into the vessel's forward cargo configuration to accommodate substantial storage requirements. To facilitate rapid loading and unloading, the hold was accessed via heavy-duty booms and king post cranes, while internal access on lower decks allowed personnel to securely shore cargo in place. This design reflected the vessel's dual-purpose capability, enabling it to be quickly repurposed for military service as a troop carrier.

Cargo Hold No. 2, located immediately aft, was larger and handled general freight and passenger cargo. It routinely carried baggage, automobiles, machinery, household goods, and commercial merchandise. The hold’s multi-level layout allowed efficient separation and stowage of different cargo types. Heavy-duty cargo handling gear enabled rapid loading and unloading during short port calls. Together, these holds supported both passenger service and commercial revenue operations.

The baggage office next to the #2 hatch on E Deck and morgue were located in the forward E-Deck area as shon in photos provided. The morgue, was a compact refrigerated unit with two drawers for deceased passengers or crew. It remained part of the ship’s original operational infrastructure. These spaces reflect the vessel’s full range of at-sea support systems.

The brig (accessible from the D Deck Tourist Class passenger area) was used for temporary confinement of stowaways or unruly passengers or crew members.

These images capture remaining service areas still identifiable aboard the ship. They provide a record of these forward internal spaces as they exist today. The brig and morgue will not be dismantled and removed and are expected to remain onboard through final deployment.

(Text copied/slightly altered from my page, SS United States - Americas Superliner. PLEASE CREDIT ME FOR USE OF MY PHOTOS).

Link to the post:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18rob57DU2/?mibextid=wwXIfr

After another successful, and long day, aboard the SS United States, I’m documenting places most have rarely seen for the historic record.

This is the anchor equipment systems aboard the ship.

Deep within the bow of the legendary SS United States was one of the ship’s most rugged and mechanically fascinating operational spaces — the anchor handling system. Hidden beneath the forecastle deck, this interconnected series of compartments and machinery spaces was responsible for controlling and storing the massive tackle that secured the fastest ocean liner ever built to the seabed.

At the top of the system was the anchor handling room located forward in the bow on Upper Deck. This was the operational area where the anchor chains passed inboard from the hawse pipes and over the windlass equipment. Here, crew members monitored and controlled the handling of the ship’s enormous anchors during anchoring operations. The machinery included the wildcats — the geared chain wheels that physically gripped the anchor chain links as the anchors were lowered or raised. Chain stoppers and heavy braking systems secured the anchors while underway, preventing movement from the tremendous loads generated by the ship and sea conditions.

Directly below sat the windlass machinery room on Main Deck, a separate compartment housing the drive motors and mechanical systems powering the anchor windlasses above. On large liners like the United States, separating the machinery below deck reduced exposure to the harsh marine environment while also improving weight distribution low in the hull. These motors transferred immense torque vertically upward to the windlass assemblies on the deck above, allowing the crew to safely handle the tremendous weight of the anchors and their chains.

Beneath both spaces was the chain locker, the top of which is on A Deck — a cavernous compartment deep in the forward hull where the anchor chains were stored when not deployed. The chains descended through pipes from the windlass area into the locker below, where they accumulated freely in massive piles. Each anchor typically had its own dedicated locker compartment to prevent fouling and tangling. The “bitter end” of each chain was permanently secured inside the locker to prevent accidental loss of the entire chain overboard.

The system formed a vertical mechanical hierarchy within the bow: anchors outside the hull feeding into the anchor handling room, machinery housed in the windlass room below, and finally the chain lockers deep in the hull beneath everything else. On a vessel the size of the United States, these spaces were immense and heavily reinforced, designed to withstand the colossal stresses imposed by thousands of feet of heavy anchor chain and the forces generated by a 990-foot liner riding at anchor.

Shown are images from these areas from anchor handling, to the windlass room, then the stores and subsequently the chain locker. Also attached is an image of the ships inboard profile showing the decks each of these spaces occupy.

Special thanks to Colleen Marine for their professionalism, diligence, and commitment to ensuring environmental compliance and operational integrity throughout the entire remediation process aboard the SS United States. With remediation now complete, the vessel is effectively “reef ready,” pending only final inspections and remaining permit approvals. Items now being removed are “scrap steel and components” that permits the interior of the ship to be opened up for diver safety and even flooding throughout the ship once deployment occurs.

To date, EPA inspections and associated regulatory reviews have been satisfied, and current indications suggest final permit sign-offs are far less likely to be denied than some organizations and individuals elsewhere online continue to claim. The work performed has been thorough, transparent, and carried out to meet the applicable environmental and regulatory standards required for the ship’s next chapter.

More to come!

-Mike Strasbaugh

(Please credit me for use of my images!)

Here is the link to my original post via Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18UU7zR3Cu/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Correction of deliberate misinformation being spread by the SS United States Preservation Foundation

Below is the link to a Facebook post that directly counters the lie being spread by the SS United States Preservation Foundation claiming that Okaloosa County is exploring or accepting scrap bids (they are not).

The link to the post is below, and for those who do not have Facebook the text of the post is below:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FMuxzrmj9/?mibextid=wwXIfr

_______________

The facts surrounding the SS United States need to be brought back onto the rails of reality and away from the misinformation, selective narratives, and manufactured outrage being pushed to sabotage the reefing effort.

The remediation process is complete. Okaloosa County has publicly stated that it is awaiting final sign-offs from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA before proceeding further. The County has not stated that the ship is being scrapped. That narrative has been pushed by the SS United States Preservation Foundation and its members despite there being no official statement supporting it.

What was actually said during the County Board meeting matters.

When Commissioner Mixon asked about potential scrap value, Mr. Coffey stated clearly that without soliciting scrap bids — which the County is NOT doing — any number discussed could only be an estimate. Commissioner Mixon then asked about the value of additional items removed from the vessel that belong to the County. That discussion did not include the mast, propeller, funnels, builder’s plate, or the bars removed from the ship, all of which remain the property and responsibility of the Conservancy.

Anyone genuinely interested in facts instead of internet rumor should watch the commissioners’ comments themselves instead of relying on distorted secondhand claims. The comment can be found at this link at the 2:10:55 mark:

https://www.youtube.com/live/sxhd1D7axzg?feature=shared

If reefing permits are denied, then yes, the SS United States will likely be scrapped in Mobile at her current berth. That is reality. But claiming scrapping is already decided or secretly underway is false.

There is also continued confusion — some of it deliberate — about the legal and regulatory process. The SS United States is not treated like ordinary abandoned private property. Federal permits, environmental compliance requirements, and historic review processes are involved because that is how federal law works when dealing with a vessel of this size and significance. At the same time, there is no hidden legal mechanism that will suddenly force preservation or indefinitely delay the outcome. No law guarantees the ship will be saved simply because some people demand it.

Coleen Marine, Inc. deserves recognition, not dismissal, for the work completed aboard the ship. The remediation and reef preparation process was not careless or improvised. It was methodical, heavily regulated, and conducted under environmental oversight from start to finish. The contractor followed the applicable regulations and completed difficult technical work safely and professionally under constant public scrutiny.

Attempts by the SS United States Preservation Foundation’s Vice President (Steve Perry) and others to publicly undermine Coleen Marine’s competence at County meetings and elsewhere on social media, both publicly AND privately, ignore the obvious reality that the people physically working aboard the ship every day now possess as much direct operational familiarity with the SS United States as many of those criticizing them from podiums at county board meetings and comment sections on social media. Experience is measured by execution, not nostalgia. Coleen Marine carried out the assignment professionally and responsibly, and they deserve credit for their stewardship of the vessel during one of the most difficult periods in its history.

The situation is not complicated. The ship has been remediated. The County is awaiting final federal approvals. Reefing remains the active plan unless permits are denied. If permits are denied, the likely outcome is domestic scrapping in Mobile.

That is the present reality — not fantasy, not fearmongering, and not the misinformation campaign currently being waged to derail the project.

[deleted]

A second batch of photos, with a few more interior photos, from my recent trip aboard the SS United States as she nears the end of her remediation process.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CiJimVSsY/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Here is the link to the latest post on Facebook regarding my recent visit aboard the SSUS.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14av6jbUFqs/?mibextid=wwXIfr