S.S. United States now world's largest artificial reef

A legendary ship's final voyage, the SS United States, will now rest around 180 feet beneath the Gulf's surface, becoming the world's largest artificial reef. Fox's Kevin Uretzky reports. The SS United States is being transformed into the world's largest artificial reef. Crews deliberately sinking the 990-foot ocean liner about 25 miles off the coast of Florida Wednesday afternoon. We get to study this ship from the moment before it goes in the water. To 10, 20, 30 years after it's been in the water. The SS United States made her maiden voyage in 1952 and was once the fastest passenger ship in the world, but has spent the last three decades docked in Philadelphia, slowly decaying away. The Reef Project is intended to prevent the ship from becoming scrap metal. She represents pride and resilience and... Strength and beauty. I'm just so happy that we are able to save parts of her. Now the ship starts a new life as a home to diverse marine life and a new diving destination. I think it's important that viewers understand. These aren't sites just for scuba divers. They're the history of our ancestors, the history of our societies. Instead of using explosives, crews sank the SS United States via controlled flooding, removing smokestacks, tanks, and hundreds of portholes before submerging. All hazardous materials and paint were removed over the last year to prevent marine life contamination, and several artifacts were salvaged for a museum. These are iconic elements of the ship. That helped tell her story. During her life, the S.S. United States carried four presidents and multiple celebrities. In New York, Kevin Uretzky, Fox News.