Seeing the Big U one last time…
4 minute read
April 28, 2025, 11:18 PM
Recently, I had the opportunity to travel down to Mobile, Alabama to see the SS United States before she becomes an artificial reef off of the coast of Florida. I didn’t get to see her when she left Philadelphia, so I appreciated seeing her one last time in Mobile. I’m going to make a full-on photo set about the trip, and that will come later on, but I wanted to show you some of my photos of the ship in Mobile now before it all goes in the queue for processing.
I started out shooting a bit with my DSLR, using the van that I had rented to raise myself up a little bit more than I could do otherwise.
View of the Big U from where I set myself up on Old Water Street in Mobile. This is marginally closer than one could get in Philadelphia, and the view is side-on rather than bow-on, allowing a better view of the stern from the street.
The bow of the United States, seen from the street.
I tried to be a little bit artistic here, focusing on the barbed wire from the fence with the funnels in the background.
Then I pulled the drone out and got the kinds of shots that I like to get of ships.
The United States alongside in Mobile. It was nice not having the pier next to her like it was in Philadelphia, because I got better access to the port side.
The port-side nameplate.
The ship’s two funnels, which I’ve captured before from similar angles in Philadelphia. The funnels were very visible off of Interstate 10, and in fact, my first glimpse of the ship in Mobile was from the highway as I was approaching.
Door on the port side of the hull, opened. A lot of doors on the hull were open on both sides.
The stern, viewed from the port side. This was an angle that I deemed to be too risky in Philadelphia, but it was clear here. Also, notice a lot of windows and other panels missing on the ship, as it is prepared for sinking.
On the starboard side of the stern, there was this red ball sticking out of an opening. I have no idea what it’s for, and it was not there in Philadelphia.
The propeller, still secured on the stern. There were a lot of white bags like shown here all over the ship, presumably for transport of removed materials. Note that the deck is now brown, vs. the green color that it was in Philadelphia. The entire topside of the ship was much browner in appearance overall than I remembered, presumably because they removed the green paint, or otherwise did something to it.
Stern view from a distance.
This is my favorite shot of the bunch, showing it bow-on. I wanted to get this kind of shot while she was in Philadelphia, but the structures around the ship precluded this, as her bow was moored fairly close to land. This is the best that I was able to do in Philly, and that was a second attempt, as water had splashed on my drone during a previous attempt in December 2023, which led to a premature end to that shoot (though the drone was still able to limp back home and be recovered). In Mobile, there was plenty of room to get my bow shots.
From a distance, showing it in more context, with a tanker barge moored ahead of it.
Selfie with the ship after landing my drone, where I tried much too hard to get it right, and it still ended up not looking very good.
I was glad to make the trip out to see the ship one more time. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I needed this trip for closure. I was upset about the move at the time, but now, having visited again, I am at peace with her fate. She is going to become an artificial reef, and she will now become a home for all kinds of marine life off of the Gulf Coast of Florida, and also once again welcome the public who will dive on her wreck. She’s not going to see further service above the water, but this is good, too, as she begins a new life under the water.
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