The SS United States (also known as "The Big U") is an ocean liner built in 1952 for the United States Lines. At 53,329 gross tons, she is the largest ocean liner to date built entirely in the United States and is still the fastest liner ever built. In 1952, on her maiden voyage as the new flagship of the United States Lines, the United States captured the Blue Riband with the fastest transatlantic crossing on record. The entry of the United States marked the first time a U.S.-flagged ship held the Blue Riband, surpassing European speed records which had stood for decades. The United States plied the transatlantic passenger service until 1969, and outlasted the demise of her original owners. The ship is currently docked in Philadelphia until funds are raised for her restoration.

After going out of service in 1969, the United States has been passed between several companies. In 1978 the vessel was sold to private interests who hoped to revitalize the liner in a time share cruise ship format. Financing fell through and the ship was placed up for auction by MARAD. In 1984, the ship's remaining fittings and furniture were sold at auction in Norfolk, Virginia. Some of the furniture now represents a substantial portion of the interior of Windmill Point, a restaurant in Nags Head, NC. (These items include dining room tables and chairs in the main restaurant and the bar and lounge tables and chairs in the upstairs lounge as well as other items.) Soon a new consortium of owners became interested in revitalizing the ship and the vessel was towed to eastern Europe to undergo asbestos removal. No viable agreements were reached in the U.S. for a reworking of the vessel and eventually the United States was towed to her current dock in South Philadelphia, where she has been moored since 1996. She can be easily viewed from shore and Interstate 95, as the United States is located directly across Columbus Boulevard from Philadelphia's IKEA store.

In 1999, the SS United States Foundation and the SS United States Conservancy (then known as the SS United States Preservation Society, Inc.) successfully worked to have the ship placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 2003, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) purchased the ship with the intent of fully restoring it to a service role in their newly announced American-flagged Hawaiian passenger service. In August 2004 NCL commenced feasibility studies regarding a new build-out of the vessel. In May 2006, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, chairman of Star Cruises (which owns NCL) said that the company's next project is "the restoration of the...United States." In May 2007, NCL stated that it had completed an extensive technical review and determined that the ship is in good condition. NCL has catalogued more than 100 boxes of blueprints of the vessel and while this is not a complete set, NCL says the documents will provide useful information to the project team that is seeking to refit the United States.

While the United States was the last superliner to hold the Blue Riband, she eventually lost the eastbound transatlantic record to an Incat-built Norwegian-owned wave-piercing catamaran ferry in 1990 (Hoverspeed Great Britain). The United States still retains the westbound speed record.

[Source: Wikipedia]

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