Video taking off 123x its usual first day

SS United States sinks, with a museum planned ashore

FOX 29 Philadelphia's coverage follows the liner's transformation into an artificial reef, while its smokestacks and other artifacts are earmarked for a museum.

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FOX 29 Philadelphia Story of November 13, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 196,164 views a day, 123 times a normal first day on this channel (1,591).

LIVE 🚢 SS United States being sunk to become world’s largest artificial reef

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1:41A historical segment traces the liner's speed records, retirement and preparation for conversion into an artificial reef.
26:14Lisa shares a vintage photograph of her mother aboard the SS United States.
33:47Contractor Tim Mullane explains preparation work, including removing the funnels for preservation while maintaining the ship's structural integrity.
44:03Mel Ponder describes students making commemorative challenge coins from salvaged ship metal.
57:25Small explosions along the hull begin the scuttling process; this is not yet the final descent.

The smokestacks aren't going down with the ship. As the SS United States becomes an artificial reef off Florida, plans for a museum in Fort Walton Beach offer another way to preserve something of the liner that once broke the transatlantic speed record.

FOX 29 Philadelphia's follow-up report confirms the sinking, moving the story beyond the long wait we described as we reported here. The extended broadcast drew about 196,000 views in its first day, vastly more than the station's usual long streams. A separate report confirming the ship's descent drew roughly 144,000.

The broadcast also makes room for memories of the ship above water. On the Destin boardwalk, a visitor named Lisa shares a vintage photograph of her mother aboard the liner. Elsewhere, reef contractor Tim Mullane describes the engineering involved in preparing the vessel, including removing its funnels for preservation while maintaining its structural integrity.

Not every keepsake will be museum-sized. Northwest Florida State College president Mel Ponder describes how machining students made commemorative challenge coins from salvaged ship metal.

The stream eventually reaches the practical business of scuttling: small explosions appear sequentially along the hull to begin the process. In the comments, viewers ask why the sinking happened at night and question the decision to sink a historic vessel at all. Alongside the underwater project, FOX 29's follow-up points to the museum plans and the artifacts intended to remain on land.

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What viewers say

Is there any way someone can tell me the Music pieces selected for this video? It’s absolutely beautiful and I’ve been trying to use Shazam to identify the pieces but I’m not sure they’re correct. Thank you so much in advance if you know.
@mablung1114See it on YouTube
Why are we getting rid of historical stuff?
@ColtinWhitesideSee it on YouTube
Who decided night time was the best for such an historic ship to be sank to set another record.. At NIGHT ??? Why?
@RocketRob99See it on YouTube

Public comments from the video's page on YouTube