After order to leave South Philly, the SS United States' options include being sunk or sold for scrap

It's not quite what it sounds like, but this method does involve explosives. The conservancy could endeavor to sink the ship and turn it into an artificial reef and diving destination.

This approach has been taken before. In 2006, the Navy and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission worked with Escambia County, Fla., to sink the former naval warship USS Oriskany in nearby Pensacola waters. The Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, a World War II ship used by the Air Force, was similarly sunk in the Florida Keys three years later.

Sinking a ship isn't as easy as it sounds. It cost the Navy $20 million to clean the Oriskany for sinking, according to the New York Times. The Tampa Bay Times reported that the project to turn the Vandenberg into a reef cost $8.6 million.

The conservancy wouldn't say just how much such a procedure would cost for the SS United States. The ship has already been stripped of all furnishings, as well as asbestos, but to sink it would need to undergo a more intense stripping of electric cables, liquids, and other metals to meet federal regulations.

During the two-day trial between the conservancy and ship's landlord in January, Susan Gibbs, conservancy president and granddaughter of the ship's designer, said the reef option had been considered in the past, but was not the first choice for the ship.

Should the conservancy take this approach to save the ship from the scrapyard, it would not fund the cleaning and sinking itself, requiring a mix of public and private funds.

The conservancy would still work to create a land-based museum focused on the ship even if the real one ends up in deep waters.

Redevelopment

The failure to give the SS United States a second life is not for lack of ambition or imagination. It's generally been a lack of financing. Past owners have pitched time-share condos as well as a cruise line. Most recently, the conservancy paired with RXR Realty and MCR Hotels to release plans that include a 1,000-room hotel, which would include green space, room for events, and a ballroom.

Still, the estimated cost of redevelopment for the hotel is in the ballpark of $400 million and that doesn't include the cost of making over whatever pier the ship lands on.

How realistic is it that a developer steps in? The conservancy would say only that it has had some entities express interest. To the conservancy, mixed-use commercial development has always been the preferred final use for the vessel.

The scrap heap

This is the worst-case scenario. Should the conservancy be unable to secure even a temporary berth to keep exploring options such as redevelopment, the ship would have to be marketed for scrap, again.

The ship would be transported to a yard where it would have to be disassembled and whatever the conservancy gets for the material, it would put toward opening a museum for the ship.

Can the conservancy appeal the judge's decision?

The conservancy is proceeding as though it will have to abide by the Sept. 12 deadline to move, but it has not discounted future legal actions.

For now, it's asking President Joe Biden and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to step in and help.