Reports say NCL has agreed to sell the ship to preservationists rather than scrappers.

http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2010/07/report-fastest-ocean-liner-ever-built-ss-united-states-to-be-saved/98542/1

Steve

This is great news! As sneaky as they were with the sale of the SS Independence, NCL owes this to everyone.

That's great news.

Hello,

Very impressive.

According to Wiki, she had (4) Westinghouse steam turbine drives for propulsion, totalling 248,000 HP. They pack a solid punch! She apparently displaces 53,000 gross tons.

Compare this to the world's largest cruise ship, Oasis of the Seas, 130,110 HP in (6) Wartsila diesel recips and 225,282 gross tons.

So the United States had 1/4 the weight and almost 2 times the horsepower...sounds like a recipe for speed.

Regards,

Randy

Thanks for posting the "horsepower to weight" comparison. As I recall, SS United States was designed just before jet transport planes became practical, a development that made speed a minor consideration in passenger ship design. Cruise ships (and someone had a rather snide name for them, was it "box boats"?) aren't in a hurry--the longer she stays at sea, the more the passengers can wager in the casinos and buy in the on board boutiques.
Bon voyage!

Too bad she has been stripped of her interior, all furnishings and fixtures. I also understand that her turbines are the same type that powered the four Iowas. Maybe someone could confirm that.

As much as I'd like to see a historic liner saved, I swear I wouldn't wish this restoration liability upon my worst enemy............ Wait a minute, maybe Osama bin Laden actually DOES have enough money to do the job..............

The hull and propulsion plant were the prototype for the aircraft carrier U.S.S Forrestal, CVA - 59. Geared turbines. The Iowas are turbo-electric.

Be careful about the term "gross tons". It's a measure of enclosed volume, not weight. That's why the cruise ship is so large based on that unit of measure. "Displacement tons" is an indication of weight, but "gross tons" isn't. Still, at 990 ft long, she was no small thing.

It's nice to hear that she could be saved and I'd like to see it, but it's a HUGE undertaking. She's really just a shell of a ship, though an attractive one. You'll never see her put to sea again under her own power. I think the only realistic future for her would be as a floating hotel/ exhibition hall, like Queen Mary. Queen Mary had much for to work with. This is just my opinion. I have worked for several maritime museums over the years (including Mystic Seaport and USS Lexington CV-16) and spent 12 years in the Coast Guard as a Boatswain's Mate and ship rigger.

If I had to choose a ship to preserve/ restore today, I'd have to go for the USS Olympia. It's a no-brainer. She's a ready to run museum in need of a new home, dry dock visit, and hull repairs. I'd rather deal with a 344 footer with a displacement of 5,800 tons, than a 990 footer with 47,000 tons!

I think Bill Gates should buy her and restore her to seaworthy condition. Among the changes would be replacing the steam plant with either diesels or turbines. She would thus become a motor ship (MS) instead of steam ship (SS). I think Bill would appreciate owning a ship called
MS United States.

Steve

.

The Iowa class battleships are indeed powered by geared turbines. The engines for the class were built by Westinghouse and General Electric. The boilers were from Babock and Wilcox.

SS United States engines are also Westinghouse geared steam turbines fed by Babock and Wilcox boilers.

A wire service article a few years ago claimed that the U.S. made 50 knots (57-1/2 m.p.h.) and could have gone faster! That would beat an airship in the Trans Atlantic race, as the Hindenburg cruised at about 35 m.p.h.

I was told by a good friend, who is a chief engineer on a ship and has extensive connections in marine circles, that the United States engines were the prototype for the Forrestal class carriers. so, if someone wants to refurb them to operate, there are four Forrestal/Kitty Hawk class carriers due to be scrapped stored in Bremerton.
A nice ready supply of spare parts..... should help to make it just alittle bit cheaper.
Still, the cost is fairly incredible, hope they can succeed in at least storing it and keeping it from rotting away......