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一艘曾經是全世界最快的郵輪，換個方式繼續「服役」了。美國海事新聞網站 gCaptain 報導，佛羅里達州（Florida）奧卡盧薩郡（Okaloosa County）因為強風預報，把傳奇郵輪「美國號」（SS United States）的沉船作業從原定的 11 月 12 日提前到 11 月 11 日。美聯社（AP）報導，美國號在 11 日晚間約 9 點（當地時間）沉到墨西哥灣海底，換算成台灣時間是 12 日上午約 11 點，正式成為世界最大的人工魚礁。
EN The SS United States, once the fastest ocean liner in the world, has found a new way to “serve.” The maritime news site gCaptain reported that Okaloosa County in Florida moved the sinking from November 12 to November 11 because of a strong wind forecast. The Associated Press reported that the ship reached the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico at about 9 p.m. local time on November 11, which was about 11 a.m. on November 12 in Taiwan. It is now the largest artificial reef in the world.
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圖片來源：CBS News
美國號長 990 英尺（約 302 公尺），1952 年完工，到現在仍保持遠洋郵輪橫渡大西洋最快的紀錄。它被沉在德斯坦－沃爾頓堡灘（Destin-Fort Walton Beach）西南方約 22 海里的海域，水深約 180 英尺（約 55 公尺）。11 月 11 日剛好是美國退伍軍人節，讓這艘船的最後一章多了一層特別的意義。
EN The ship is 990 feet (about 302 meters) long and was finished in 1952. It still holds the record for the fastest Atlantic crossing by an ocean liner. It was sunk about 22 nautical miles southwest of Destin-Fort Walton Beach, in water about 180 feet (about 55 meters) deep. November 11 was also Veterans Day in the United States, which gave the ship’s last chapter an extra meaning.
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載過四位總統，晚年卻在碼頭待了快 30 年
美國號曾經是美國的驕傲，CBS 新聞指出，它載過杜魯門（Harry Truman）、艾森豪（Dwight Eisenhower）、甘迺迪（John Kennedy）和柯林頓（Bill Clinton）四位總統。但退役之後，這艘船在費城港停了將近 30 年，船身越來越老舊。後來奧卡盧薩郡買下它，計畫把它變成吸引潛水客的觀光景點。
EN The SS United States was once a pride of the country. CBS News said it carried four presidents: Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy and Bill Clinton. After it retired, however, the ship sat in the port of Philadelphia for almost 30 years and grew older and older. Later, Okaloosa County bought it and planned to turn it into a tourist spot for divers.
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福斯新聞阿拉巴馬州 WALA 台報導，美國號在莫比爾（Mobile）花了約 20 個月清理，去除對海洋環境有害的物質，11 月 9 日由拖船拖著展開最後的航程。不少民眾到岸邊送行，一名民眾說：「這是一生一次的事，不來看就看不到了。」另一名常來看船的居民說：「趁還能看的時候好好欣賞，之後它就沉下去，我們再也看不到了。」
EN Fox station WALA in Alabama reported that the ship spent about 20 months in Mobile, where workers removed materials that were harmful to the sea. On November 9, tugboats pulled it away on its final trip. Many people came to the shore to say goodbye. One said, “It is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. If you don’t come, you can’t see it.” Another regular visitor said, “Enjoy it while you can. After it sinks, we will never see it again.”
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美國 FOX 29 費城台在 YouTube 上報導了美國號最後航程的消息：
EN FOX 29 in Philadelphia shared a news video on YouTube about the ship’s last trip.
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影片來源：FOX 29 Philadelphia／YouTube
※ 若影片沒有中文字幕，可點播放器右下角的齒輪 → 字幕 → 自動翻譯 → 中文（繁體）。
沉了七個多小時，連船都不想走
根據海事媒體 Baird Maritime 報導，沉船作業在當地時間 11 日下午 1 點 40 分左右開始，也就是台灣時間 12 日凌晨 3 點 40 分左右。因為聯邦環保規定，不能用炸藥，所以工人拆掉鍋爐冷卻海水管線上的水箱，再打開閥門讓海水灌進船體，還在甲板開洞、拆下 400 多個舷窗。官方原本預期灌水後約一個小時就會沉，但美聯社說，到了天黑，船身還有一大截露在水面上。
EN According to the maritime news site Baird Maritime, the sinking began at about 1:40 p.m. local time on November 11, which was about 3:40 a.m. on November 12 in Taiwan. Federal environmental rules do not allow explosives, so workers removed tanks from the boiler’s seawater pipes and opened the valves to let water into the hull. They also cut holes in the decks and took out more than 400 portholes. Officials had expected the ship to sink in about an hour, but the AP said a large part of it was still above the water at dark.
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直到當地時間晚上約 9 點（台灣時間 12 日上午約 11 點），美國號才完全沉入墨西哥灣。奧卡盧薩郡發言人尼克・托梅克（Nick Tomecek）苦笑說：「她當初就是照『不會沉』來設計的，今天這件事確實給我們的作業團隊帶來了一些挑戰。」從開始到沉底，前後花了七個多小時。美國號現在直立躺在約 180 英尺深的海底，上層甲板距離海面約 55 英尺（約 17 公尺），潛水客有機會下去參觀。整個計畫花了 1350 萬美元，官方希望它成為鮪魚、旗魚等魚群的新家。
EN Finally, at about 9 p.m. local time (about 11 a.m. in Taiwan on November 12), the ship went completely under the Gulf of Mexico. County spokesperson Nick Tomecek said, “She was designed to be unsinkable, and that has definitely given our crews some challenges today.” The whole process took more than seven hours. The ship now sits upright about 180 feet down, and its upper decks are about 55 feet (about 17 meters) below the surface, so divers can visit it. The project cost $13.5 million, and officials hope it will become a home for tuna, marlin and other fish.
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沒有送行典禮，爭議也沒停過
因為作業時間提前，原本規劃在當地會議中心舉辦的送行典禮取消了，郡政府改在德斯坦一家海鮮餐廳舉辦觀看派對，用戶外大螢幕直播沉船過程，網路上也同步直播。郡議會主席崔・古德溫（Trey Goodwin）說：「安全永遠是第一優先，只要調整時間就能安全順利完成這次歷史性的作業，就沒必要冒不必要的風險。」
EN Because the schedule was moved up, the send-off ceremony at a local convention center was canceled. The county held a watch party at a seafood restaurant in Destin instead, with a big outdoor screen and an online live stream. County commission chairman Trey Goodwin said, “Safety is always the first priority. If we can finish this historic job safely just by changing the time, there is no need to take unnecessary risks.”
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這艘船的命運也有不少爭議，保存人士和環保團體曾想阻止沉船，認為它應該被修復開放參觀，但郡政府認為船況已經太差。美國號保存協會的董事華倫・瓊斯（Warren Jones）說，沃爾頓堡灘正在籌備一座博物館，已經收集了約 1 萬件船上的文物，包括一個重 3 萬 8 千磅的錨。對美國號來說，沉入海底不是結束，而是成為海洋生物家園的開始。
EN The ship’s fate was also debated. Preservation groups and environmental groups had tried to stop the sinking because they believed it should be restored and opened to visitors, but the county said the ship was in too bad a condition. Warren Jones of the SS United States Conservancy said Fort Walton Beach is preparing a museum, and it has already collected about 10,000 items from the ship, including an anchor that weighs 38,000 pounds. For the SS United States, going to the bottom is not an end but the start of a new home for sea life.
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精選單字
scuttle /ˈskʌtəl/ 故意將船鑿沉
artificial reef /ˌɑːrtɪˈfɪʃəl riːf/ 人工魚礁
ocean liner /ˈoʊʃən ˈlaɪnər/ 遠洋郵輪
valve /vælv/ 閥門
porthole /ˈpɔːrthoʊl/ 舷窗
unsinkable /ʌnˈsɪŋkəbəl/ 不會沉的
habitat /ˈhæbɪtæt/ 棲息地
diver /ˈdaɪvər/ 潛水客
資料來源：gCaptain、FOX10 WALA、CBS Philadelphia、CBS News、AP、The Guardian、Baird Maritime、6abc Philadelphia、FOX 29 Philadelphia／YouTube
