Shipping out

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Before the SS United States relocated to her current home of the last 13 years at Pier 82 across from IKEA, she was moored for about a week a bit farther south at Packer Avenue Marine Terminal.

Gus Rosanio and a few Terminal coworkers who belong to International Longshoreman’s Association Local 1242 couldn’t resist sneaking a peek inside this once fabled liner. So one day, the men gained access through unlocked cargo doors to the ship that on her 1952 maiden voyage from New York to Southampton shattered all trans-Atlantic speed records and remains to this day the fastest passenger liner ever built. A look inside the gutted, vast, empty vessel is something Rosanio will never forget.

"Getting on there was just a real eerie feeling. We were way below deck. It was dark, damp. It was down to its bare metal. It felt like a ghost ship," Rosanio recalled.

Much like a ghost ship to which she has often been compared, the SS United States will soon disappear.

In March, Norwegian Cruise Lines announced it was putting the vessel that spans five city blocks and 17 stories high on the market. This, after years of claiming it would refurbish the SS United States and transform her into a cruise ship. In a 2003 story in the Review, NCL President/CEO Colin Veitch said the historic vessel whose last voyage was October 1969 would undergo a complete "rebuilding" after gutting and asbestos removal in Turkey in the mid ’90s. Four years later in the ’07 documentary "SS United States: Lady in Waiting," Veitch reiterated his company’s intentions, adding the ship’s hull was remarkably intact after 57 years.

So what changed?

Norwegian isn’t saying, at least not on the record, but public speculation has the ailing economy and hard-hit cruise business to blame. When contacted last month, Director of Public Relations AnneMarie Mathews would not disclose asking price for the vessel or why her Miami-based company — after purchasing the ocean liner in April 2003 for an undisclosed amount — is parting ways with this ship whose corridors once echoed with the footsteps of kings, queens, presidents, movie stars and artists.

Instead, Mathews released the following statement: "Interest in the SS United States was retained by NCL’s long-term shareholder [the Apollo Management/Star Cruises]. After exploring alternate opportunities for the ship with the SS United States Conservancy, the vessel has been listed with a ship broker who will focus on a sale to a U.S. entity." Mathews would not identify the ‘broker’ per the Review’s request.

Spanning October 1953 to March 1954, a page from a telegraph book, left, shows logs of engine speeds.

SS United States Foundation CEO/Chairman Robert Hudson Westover told the Review he heard asking price was around $2 to $5 million, and, NCL has not confirmed to the Foundation it won’t sell the old gal for scrap. Reinforcing the rumors, many published reports claim the liner will likely end up as such because it would cost an outrageous amount to bring back to life. Previous estimates by Norwegian clocked in at $200 to $500 million.

"It may end up on the scrap heap," Rosanio, born and raised at 13th and Wolf, said. "I’m sure they [NCL] may not have it happen that way but it may happen that way."

For such a celebrated liner who had an 18-year run as both a passenger and troop transport ship, that likely end would be cruel fate.

"It’s almost heartbreaking," Rosanio, who collects SS United States and other maritime memorabilia, said.

Gus Rosanio, a member of a longshoreman’s union, collects SS United States memorabilia like the tray he holds, top left, as well as sets of fine china (Photos courtesy of Gus Rosanio).

A child’s life preserver; a set for four of first-class china and silverware; a first-class serving tray; and a forward engine room telegraph book (called that because it telegraphed from a piece of equipment on the bridge what the instructions were for that particular engine room).

All his items were acquired from eBay after the man who bought much of the SS United States’ contents when they were auctioned in 1984 at Guernsey’s in Norfolk, Va., put them on the market.

Rosanio said he thinks the government should buy the vessel and moth ball it until funds can be raised to resurrect her.

"I think the government should buy it," he said. "It’s the country’s flagship. It still holds the speed record. They don’t make ships like this anymore. It should stay here, bring it down to the Navy base," he said.

Established 12 years ago with the sole intent to rescue and preserve this piece of American maritime history, the Foundation is currently in the fight of its life with urgent pleas and calls for action on its Web site, www.ssunitedstates.org. A letter from Westover — a third generation Marine who attributes his dedication to this ship to good ole patriotism — posted on the site reads in part "…Face it: those of us who bought into NCL’s vision for the Big U have been taken. Get angry. Get real mad. Maybe that anger can be turned into what needs to happen now and it’s not continuing to "work" with NCL in anyway other then forcing them, demanding that they go to Congress and work for a proper restoration for the SS United States. It is my strong belief, and that of many others, that working out a deal in Congress to save the SS United States is the least NCL can do after floating the hopes of so many for so long."

In a May interview, Westover told the Review he believes NCL isn’t doing enough to save this vessel and certainly has a responsibility to her as its owner the last six years.

"It’s just a sad story — a lot of false hopes along the way. My personal conviction is I think Norwegian never had any intention of putting her back to sea. I just think there was a lot of time lost. It’s not to say [somebody coming in 11th hour and saving the vessel] can’t happen. I just feel like it’s awfully late in the game to mount a rescue of this ship, but it’s going to require a 110 percent effort by everybody [interested in saving her]. It’s not going to be tea parties and gala fundraisers. It’s going to take protests, huge national publicity: New York Times, CNN — front page stuff."