Okaloosa County has increased the budget for its SS United States artificial reef project by $1.242 million, pushing its contract with marine contractor Coleen Marine to $11.42 million — with no deployment date in sight because the Army Corps of Engineers has not yet issued final approval.

The county's Board of Commissioners voted on the budget amendment at its monthly meeting on September 15, 2026, according to official county documents.

The 1952-built ocean liner, acquired by the county in August 2024, is slated to be sunk off Destin-Fort Walton Beach to create an artificial reef. Coleen Marine has been preparing the vessel for deployment in Mobile, Alabama. The new funds amend the county's original agreement with the contractor, and most of the increase covers one line item: securing a berth in Mobile through December 31, 2026.

The cost driver is delay, not scope creep. "All activities associated with the remediation of the SS United States for deployment as an artificial reef have been completed, and the vessel has been awaiting final approval by the Army Corps of Engineers for months," the county stated. "This idle time still results in dockage fees being incurred that are outside the county's control and beyond what was reasonably expected for this project."

The additional budget will also fund "regulatory compliance essential to mitigating environmental risk during preparation and tow and ensuring safe vessel deployment," according to the county.

With approval still pending, neither Coleen Marine nor the county can schedule a sinking date — an open-ended exposure for a tourism asset the Destin-Fort Walton Beach market is counting on to drive dive and fishing traffic.

County documents defended the contractor's performance against the overruns. "Coleen Marine has demonstrated exceptional performance, maintaining cost and schedule discipline within its contracted scope," the county said.

"There is no precedent for a project of this magnitude, and while best efforts were made to budget accordingly and core contracted tasks remain within approximately ten percent of the original budget, a series of external factors beyond the control of both the County and the contractor led to unavoidable cost increases," the county added.

The documents state these costs could not have been reasonably anticipated during planning but are essential to maintaining compliance with federal and state regulations, ensuring vessel safety, and mitigating environmental risk during preparation and tow.

All remediation work, the county emphasized, is being conducted in full compliance with local, state and federal laws as well as EPA/MARAD Best Management Practices for Preparing Vessels Intended to Create Artificial Reefs.

The berth commitment through the end of 2026 signals county officials expect the federal review could stretch well into next year — meaning further dockage-driven cost pressure is possible if approval slips beyond December 31.