跟进：合众国号注水下沉作业在佛州外海启动，沉后将成世界最大人工鱼礁
位于美国佛罗里达州 Okaloosa County 外海的合众国号（SS United States）邮轮沉船成礁作业，已于11月11日下午启动注水。这艘船长990英尺的邮轮将被沉入 Destin-Fort Walton Beach 西南约22海里的海域，沉后成为世界最大人工鱼礁。
沉船日期因天气提前了一天。Okaloosa County 原定11月12日作业，因预报强风和海况不安全，改到11月11日美中时间13时启动。作业船利用该船原有的海水进水管和128个水舱受控注水，不使用炸药，最终下沉过程预计约45分钟，船体将沉入约180英尺深的海底。
作业进度当天有所延误。因提前一天，船员一边做沉前准备、一边开始注水，当天下午阀门开启、消防船向船体泵水，船身已开始下沉，最终沉没时刻尚未完成。沉放点坐标为北纬30度07.148分、西经86度46.755分，沉后将先由 Destin-Fort Walton Beach 与 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 的潜水队下水勘测确切位置。
合众国号1952年首航即创下跨大西洋航速纪录，至今仍保持这一纪录，纪录时间为3天10小时。该船1969年退役，1996年起停泊在 Philadelphia，2025年2月被拖往阿拉巴马州 Mobile 做环保清理和沉礁准备。Okaloosa County 2024年以1,010万美元购入该船。
这项沉礁计划曾被诉至法院。SS United States Preservation Foundation 向联邦法院申请阻止拖船与沉船，美国联邦法官 M. Casey Rodgers 11月6日驳回了这一申请，沉船作业得以按计划进行。
关联：合众国号邮轮拟11月第二周沉入佛州外海：建成世界最大人工礁
Follow-Up: Flooding Begins to Sink SS United States off Florida as It Becomes the World's Largest Artificial Reef
The sinking of the ocean liner SS United States off Okaloosa County, Florida, began on November 11, as crews started flooding the 990-foot ship. It is being sunk about 22 nautical miles southwest of Destin-Fort Walton Beach to become the world's largest artificial reef.
The date was moved up by one day because of forecast heavy winds and unsafe sea conditions. Okaloosa County had planned the deployment for November 12 and instead began at 1 p.m. Central Time on November 11. Crews are flooding the ship in a controlled process through its original seawater intake pipes and 128 tanks, with no explosives planned. The final descent is expected to take about 45 minutes, leaving the ship in about 180 feet of water.
The operation ran behind schedule. Because the sinking was moved up a day, crews were preparing the vessel and flooding it at the same time. Valves were opened during the afternoon and a fire boat pumped water into the hull, but the final descent had not been completed. The deployment coordinates are 30 degrees 07.148 minutes north, 86 degrees 46.755 minutes west. Dive teams from Destin-Fort Walton Beach and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will make the first survey dive to fix the ship's exact resting position.
SS United States set the transatlantic speed record on its 1952 maiden voyage, crossing in 3 days and 10 hours, a record it still holds. The ship was retired in 1969, moored in Philadelphia from 1996, and towed to Mobile, Alabama, in February 2025 for environmental remediation and reef preparation. Okaloosa County purchased the ship in 2024 for $10.1 million.
A preservation group tried to stop the sinking in court. U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers denied the SS United States Preservation Foundation's motion on November 6, allowing the deployment to proceed.
来源：Okaloosa County
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：合众国号邮轮停泊在 Philadelphia 时的资料照片。Smallbones 摄，CC0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / File photo: SS United States moored in Philadelphia. By Smallbones, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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