Activists: Fire shelter chief for $1,000 purebred collie

Historic ocean liner could be turned into luxury cruise ship

NEW YORK (AP) — An ocean liner bigger than the Titanic that once carried celebrities across the Atlantic at record speeds may one day sail again. Officials of the Crystal Cruises luxury travel company held a news conference Thursday to announce plans to overhaul the SS United States at a cost of at least $700 million. The ship has been docked in Philadelphia for two decades, gutted and rusting. Before it can be turned into a state-of-the-art commercial vessel, the SS United States must undergo a nine-month feasibility study. In its glory days in the 1950s, the SS United States carried everyone from royalty to immigrants across the Atlantic, accompanied by three on-board orchestras. It is now owned by a conservation group, with a purchase option signed by Crystal Cruises.