NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The clock is ticking for an old ocean liner that's looking for a new port city to call home.
Currently at a port in Philadelphia, the SS United States needs a new home after a federal judge ruled that it must leave by September 12. According to the Board of Directors for the SS United States Conservancy Warren Jones, the ruling comes after the landlord significantly increased the rent.
So, the conservancy has launched a fundraising campaign to raise money to move the ship to a new port city.
The group hopes to move the ship to a port on the East Coast, including Newport News. Jones said rehoming the vessel would be a homecoming since it was built in Newport News in the early 1950s.
“It would be bringing the ship home. She was built in 1950 -1951 at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, as it was called then. And she spent a lot of her life there,” said Jones.
Moreover, Jones said it could boost the local economy.
“Would a development like that be commercially viable? And the answer was yes. You know it would bring jobs to the area.”
But Jones said bringing the SS United States to Newport News is challenging. They need to find a port that is available throughout the year to dock the ship. Currently, the conservancy is working with US Senator Tim Kaine’s office and the Port of Virginia to find a possible port.