SS United States: What the $11.42 million reef contract plan actually covers

Okaloosa County staff records now explain how a $7,228,000 agreement with Coleen Marine grew to a displayed $11,420,000 contract schedule for towing, preparation and deployment. They also show that outside contributions are already inside that larger figure. What they do not provide is a final bill for the entire SS United States project, or proof that every proposed dollar has been approved, received or spent.⁠126

In our November 10 report, we described the weather-driven decision to advance deployment operations to November 11, 2026, at 1 p.m. Central Standard Time, and flagged several competing cost accounts. The new detail is financial, not operational: the county’s amendment and deployment-expense recommendations clarify much of the commitment, but no newly confirmed arrival at the offshore site or completed sinking has been established.⁠1⁠126⁠127

The county’s schedule identifies the agreement as C25-4056-TDD. It starts at $7,228,000, lists the first amendment at zero dollars, adds $2,950,000 under the December 2025 second amendment, then proposes another $1,242,000 under the third. That arithmetic explains the relationship between two previously reported contractor totals: $10,178,000 before the latest proposal and $11,420,000 with it.⁠126

The cumulative increase is $4,192,000, or 58 percent of the original agreement. That is substantial growth in this contract. It is not evidence that the whole reef project is 58 percent over budget, nor that $11.42 million has already been paid. The record is a staff amendment recommendation, not an audited expenditure ledger or an independently verified final signed agreement.⁠126

The first amendment illustrates why the narrative and the dollar table need to be read together. Executed in November 2024, it moved remediation and preparation from Norfolk, Virginia, to Mobile, Alabama. Staff said the move increased upfront costs, yet their table assigns that amendment no net addition to the contract. There is no separate charge in the schedule that can responsibly be added for the relocation.⁠126

The second amendment’s $2.95 million breaks into three allocations: $300,000 for additional dockage, $500,000 for contractor unknowns and $2.15 million for unforeseen regulatory requirements, insurance mandates, port directives and maritime conditions associated with the Philadelphia-to-Mobile tow. Those allocations account for the entire increase.⁠126

The third proposal is more concentrated. Alongside the $944,000 for dockage through December 31, 2026, it assigns $298,000 to restore towing and deployment funds depleted by continuing regulatory compliance. At the time, staff described remediation as finished and the ship as having waited months for final Army Corps of Engineers approval while berth charges accumulated.⁠126

That December date is the end of the dockage coverage staff sought, not a new sinking deadline. The ship subsequently left Mobile under tow on November 9. The proposal explains the cost of waiting; it does not establish that the vessel stayed docked through year-end or that all the requested berth money was ultimately spent.⁠62⁠126

The financing table resolves another potential mistake. It lists $7,228,000 in tourism funds, $3,575,000 in grants and outside funding, and $617,000 redirected from marketing. Together, those categories equal $11,420,000 exactly. Adding the outside contributions on top would count them twice.⁠126

Tourism funds and the marketing reallocation supply $7,845,000, or 68.7 percent of this financing schedule. Staff describe outside support as executed or committed, which does not mean every contribution has arrived. The documented trade-off is a redirection of tourism marketing and promotion money—not an established transfer from schools, housing or another general public service.⁠126

This reconciles the exact contractor figures, but not every price attached to the project. Our earlier report included a $10.1 million county commitment and CBS’s account of a $1 million purchase followed by another $13 million for preparation. The new schedule does not establish that those descriptions cover identical expenses or dates. Acquisition and other project spending still need to be reconciled with the executed contract chain and paid invoices before any one number can stand as the all-in cost.

A separate county request sought pre-approval for approximately $110,000 in deployment-week expenses, in addition to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission overtime assistance. Its background also describes a $100,000 purchase order authorized in December 2025 to partially offset security coordination. These are a request and an earlier authorization—not two verified payments that can simply be added to the contractor total.⁠127

The commission’s law-enforcement division was coordinating offshore security from departure through sinking with the Coast Guard, other Florida and federal agencies, Eglin, the county sheriff, and emergency-management and medical personnel. Eligible expenses included overtime, fuel, lodging, travel, equipment, temporary certified personnel, supplies and a catered security-agency meal. Calling the estimate a $110,000 party bill would misrepresent that work.⁠127

Calling it exclusively a security bill would also be wrong. The same request described more than 20 boat vendors carrying invited observers, a convention-center celebration, a watch party, livestreaming and media activities. Staff expected 30 to 40 vendors overall. There is no dollar breakdown separating security from hospitality and promotion, and planning descriptions do not prove that every vendor was hired or every event went ahead.⁠127

A state travel-system transition complicated the arrangements. Travel expenses were frozen from October 15 through December 15, although overtime could still be paid. County staff therefore sought to handle fuel, lodging, boat slips, meals and minor equipment directly for the security detail.⁠127

They requested direct vendor payments instead of purchase orders, competitive-procurement waivers for individual vendors above $4,500, and advances of up to 50 percent backed by an invoice and approval from the deputy county administrator for operations. Most transactions were expected to remain within the $4,500 noncompetitive threshold; larger examples included observation boats, marina fuel and a hotel providing more than 50 room nights. The request establishes neither which exceptions were granted nor which advances were paid.⁠127

For now, the operational plan remains the one we reported November 10: deployment operations are scheduled to begin Wednesday, November 11, at 1 p.m. CST, about 22 nautical miles southwest of Destin-Fort Walton Beach. Officials advanced the plan by one day because heavy winds were forecast to make Thursday unsafe. A scheduled start is not a confirmed sinking time.⁠1⁠2

The sendoff ceremony was canceled; a noon gathering at AJ’s Seafood and Oyster Bar in Destin was planned with a live feed. That gathering time is not the deployment time, and an announced stream is not a confirmed working one. Arrival, final seabed position, the sinking-site spectator boundary and an opening date for public diving remain unestablished. The earlier 100-yard moving tow safety zone cannot substitute for a deployment-site perimeter.⁠63⁠116⁠120

The November 3 preservation lawsuit also remains a separate unresolved issue. It challenges environmental and historic-preservation approvals and alleges potential harm to marine life and the food web. Emergency efforts to stop deployment were reportedly denied, but the complete signed orders and subsequent docket history have not been verified; that is not a confirmed final ruling on the underlying claims.⁠44⁠45⁠122

The county’s hoped-for return—dive travel, charter bookings, overnight stays and marine habitat—has yet to be measured. The intended world’s-largest artificial-reef designation likewise is not an accomplished result. The financial records make the commitment easier to understand. They do not yet settle either side of the eventual reckoning: what the reef delivers, or what the whole project costs.⁠99⁠3