The Excelsior Band will strike up a tune, the Azalea Trail Maids will flash their smiles, and the festive vibe of Mobile’s Carnival season will welcome the arrival of the USS McFaul on Friday as Mobile’s 2025 Mardi Gras ship.

But overshadowing the celebration will be a much larger and more storied vessel: the SS United States. This iconic ocean liner, which once shattered speed records and hosted four U.S. presidents along with Hollywood’s biggest stars, is set to arrive in Mobile ahead of its final chapter.

Dubbed “America’s Flagship,” the nearly 1,000-foot ship is expected to reach Mobile-based Modern American Recycling & Repair Services Inc. (MARRS) as soon as Joe Cain Day on Sunday or as late as a week afterward. Officials have not provided a firm arrival date, but its presence in Alabama’s Port City is imminent.

For local historians and maritime enthusiasts, the ship’s stay in Mobile represents an opportunity for storytelling and sight-seeing.

“People want to see it, but Kate Winslet will not be waiting for you at the top of the gangplank,” joked John Sledge, maritime historian-in-residence at the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico, referencing the actress from the 1997 film Titanic.

While often compared to the Titanic, the SS United States is larger and unique in its own right, holding the record for the fastest transatlantic crossing—a journey it completed in just over three days and 10 hours. However, unlike in its heyday, the vessel today is stripped of its former grandeur.

“It’s just steel decks and walls and there is not much to see on board,” Sledge said. “In many ways, it’s more vivid in our imagination.”

Cleaning

The SS United States will have a relatively short stay in Mobile, though estimates vary. Reports suggest it could remain at MARRS for anywhere from six months to a year before being escorted by tugboats off the Florida Gulf Coast and sunk to create the world’s largest artificial reef.

Nick Tomecek, a spokesperson for Okaloosa County, Fla., which now owns the ship, said the ship’s time in Mobile will be determined once work begins. The goal, he said, is to make the vessel environmentally safe for submersion in the Gulf of Mexico—renamed the “Gulf of America” by an executive order issued by President Donald Trump last month.

Media reports have indicated that work in Mobile will involve removing contaminants or hazardous materials, but Phillip Mason, vice president of operations at MARRS, downplayed those concerns.

“All of that is supposed to be off the ship,” Mason said.

He called the work in Mobile a “simple process.” He said crews will remove the top deck, take off the aluminum, and conduct a cleaning.

According to Okaloosa County, the ship will have holes strategically cut around it to ensure the vessel lands upright during submersion. Passages will also be opened allowing for marine life to thrive in and around the ship.

“The ship is completely gutted,” Mason said. “There is nothing hazardous on board. They took the wood, the carpet and removed it.”

Despite its lack of elegance, Mason anticipates an influx of sightseers hoping to catch a glimpse of the historic ship. The SS United States will be visible from the Maritime Museum and various vantage points along the Mobile waterfront.

“I’m sure everyone from their brothers to their cousins, nieces, and nephews will be lining up to look this thing,” Mason said, estimating a six-month stay in Mobile.

Fat Tuesday arrival?

As for its arrival date, estimates vary. Mason predicted the ship could reach Mobile between Sunday and Tuesday, coinciding with the height of Mardi Gras. However, Capt. Mike Vinik, the tugboat captain guiding the SS United States, suggested it would more likely arrive next Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. The Alabama State Port Authority, based on updates from Okaloosa County, expects its arrival on Ash Wednesday.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the vessel was off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. By late afternoon and early evening, it was spotted off the coast from Miami.

Vinik said officials are withholding specific arrival updates to prevent private boaters from crowding the ship’s entry into Mobile’s harbor. Still, he acknowledged that the vessel’s massive size—coupled with its distinctive 65-foot smokestacks—will make it impossible to miss.

The ship’s journey has garnered widespread media interest due to its rich history and repeated, unsuccessful attempts to repurpose it as a museum or tourist attraction. A last-minute effort to save the SS United States emerged on Feb. 10, when the nonprofit New York Coalition to Save the SS United States Inc. called on Trump to issue an executive order preventing its sinking.

Since the late 1970s, the vessel has changed hands multiple times, with various owners hoping to transform it into a museum. In its prime, it hosted luminaries such as Walt Disney, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Walter Cronkite, Judy Garland, Bob Hope, and John Wayne. Four U.S. presidents also traveled aboard: Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Bill Clinton.

Mason acknowledged the calls to preserve the ship but remained skeptical. “Who knows what will happen?” he said. “The state of Florida owns that girl.”

Florida destination

Indeed, Okaloosa County has committed up to $10.1 million to acquire the vessel from the United States Conservancy and transport it from Philadelphia to Mobile. From Mobile, it will be moved roughly 20 miles offshore from Destin-Fort Walton Beach and submerged to create an artificial reef. Additional funding will support a land-based museum and immersive exhibit detailing the ship’s history.

Florida tourism officials believe the “World’s Largest Artificial Reef” will attract divers and anglers to the region. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, every dollar invested in artificial reefs in the Florida Panhandle generates an estimated $138 in economic benefits, including job creation and increased activity in tourism-related industries.

Meanwhile, Mobile is looking to capitalize on the ship’s temporary presence. Sledge has already scheduled a harbor tour featuring the SS United States on March 27 through Historic Blakeley State Park. Tickets are $39 for adults and $29 for children.

Mobile tours

Sledge anticipates additional tours given the vessel’s national significance.

“It will dominate our skyline,” he said. “The smokestacks alone are the equivalent of a six-story building. It represents a bygone era of transatlantic travel, from the Titanic to this ship’s (prime in the) 1960s. It’s a method of travel that is lost now. But this was an incredibly efficient vessel—an outstanding piece of American engineering and craftsmanship that holds the record for the fastest Atlantic crossing.”

He added, “It’s a technological and engineering story worth telling and people will be able to see it.”