PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A historic ocean liner moored in Philadelphia has been spared from the scrap heap, at least temporarily. 
 
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 FILE - in this Nov. 22, 2013 file photo, the SS United States sits moored in Philadelphia. The historic ocean liner has been spared from the scrap heap, at least temporarily. The SS United States Conservancy... (Associated Press) 
 
 The SS United States Conservancy announced Monday that it raised more than $100,000 from supporters around the world. The board will meet this week to discuss the ship's future. 
 
 The SS United States was once the world's fastest ocean liner. It launched in 1952 after a secret Cold War project to build the world's fastest ship. 
 
 The conservancy had planned to repurpose it as a museum and mixed-use destination. 
 
 The nonprofit had sent a virtual SOS to supporters last month saying expenses had become unsustainable. It even retained a broker to explore selling the ship to a metals recycler. 
 
 The conservancy needs more than $60,000 per month to keep the rehabilitation project afloat. ||||| SS United States, Once A Marvel Of Technology, May Be Sold For Scrap 
 
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 An iconic luxury ocean liner, originally designed and built in 1952 to be the fastest ship on the seas and a symbol of America's postwar strength and pride, may soon be reduced to scraps of metal. 
 
 The conservancy that owns and maintains the SS United States said it has retained a broker to explore the potential sale of the vessel. It adds that if no donor or investor comes forward before Oct. 31, the conservancy will have no choice but to sell the vessel to "a responsible, U.S.-based metals recycler," according to a statement on its website. 
 
 The group called the ship a "unique and endangered historic landmark," and said the upkeep costs for it are more than $60,000 a month. 
 
 "After much deliberation and consultation, the SS United States Conservancy's Board of Directors has decided to retain a broker to explore the potential sale of America's Flagship, the SS United States to a responsible, U.S.-based metals recycler. "We have achieved an extraordinary amount of progress in support of the SS United States' potential redevelopment in recent months, including detailed plans, financial models, renderings, and engineering approaches with support from a number of major firms. In so many ways, we've never been closer to saving America's Flagship, but we have also never been closer to losing this irreplaceable piece of our history. "The Conservancy has been very clear in its communications to its supporters and the media that the carrying costs for the vessel total more than $60,000 per month. While our fundraising efforts have enabled us to meet those continuing obligations to date, thanks to the steadfast support of donors from across the nation and around the world, the financial burdens imposed by the ship's ongoing expenses have become unsustainable." 
 
 The ship, which is rusting at South Philadelphia dock, made its maiden voyage in July of 1952. At the time, it was a technological sensation and raised the standard of nautical luxury. The ship was engineered as part of a top-secret Cold War project to become the speediest vessel in the world. The SS United States still holds the trans-Atlantic speed record, according to the conservancy. 
 
 The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the conservancy says it has never been closer to losing the ship to a scrap yard. ||||| The conservancy that owns the SS United States, a former queen of the sea that now rusts at a South Philadelphia dock, intends to retain a broker to explore selling the ship to a metals recycler. 
 
 The group said on its website and in interviews Wednesday that it has never been closer to losing the ship to the scrap yard, despite making progress toward its potential redevelopment. 
 
 It costs more than $60,000 a month to care for the vessel, and while fund-raising efforts have met that, "the financial burdens imposed by the ship's ongoing expenses have become unsustainable," the statement said. 
 
 The group made similar declarations a year ago, saying in August 2014 that crucial decisions about the fate and future of the ship would have to be made that fall. In February, the nonprofit said it had received an anonymous $250,000 donation. 
 
 Susan Gibbs, the conservancy's executive director, said Wednesday that the quarter-of-a-million-dollar donation helped keep the effort afloat, but financial pressures have continued to grow. 
 
 "We're not crying wolf," she said. "We've reached a point at which we are compelled to explore this 'negative outcome.' We're hoping we can pull off an eleventh-hour save." 
 
 Gibbs could not say how much money was being sought. 
 
 "We need time," she said, citing ongoing plans to place a refurbished United States on the New York City waterfront. "We need to achieve a sustainable path forward." 
 
 The years-long effort to save the ship has brought donations from across the country and from nearly 40 countries. "It's wrenching that despite this support, it's not yet enough," Gibbs said. 
 
 The conservancy could envision selling the United States to a new owner, while maintaining an onboard role in telling the historic story of the ship, Gibbs said. 
 
 The statement posted online said, "If donors or investors step forward by the end of the month who are ready, willing, and able to help the conservancy, America's flagship could still be saved." 
 
 Without that, "we will have no choice but to negotiate the sale of the ship to a responsible U.S.-based recycler" by Oct. 31. 
 
 The conservancy is going ahead with plans for an Oct. 29 fund-raiser at the Union League. 
 
 Last year, local businesspeople suggested a plan to turn the ship into a floating hotel, anchored beside the Harrah's casino in Chester. Others said the conservancy has gotten nowhere despite years of effort, and it was time for new owners. 
 
 For nearly 20 years, the United States has cast a shadow over Pier 82, moored there after being saved from scrapping and with hopes of a lavish redesign and rebirth. 
 
 In its day, the United States was a marvel, both luxury liner and secret weapon: It could quickly be turned into a troop ship able to transport 15,000 soldiers up to 10,000 miles without refueling. 
 
 The ship's 1952 maiden voyage shattered the trans-Atlantic speed record, which it still holds. It sailed 400 times from New York to Europe and other destinations, ferrying nobility and immigrants, along with Presidents Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy. 
 
 "It's one of a kind, unique on the Earth," Gibbs said. "Hopeful donors, or investors, or political leaders will take notice and help us save our ship." 
 
 jgammage@phillynews.com 
 
 215-854-4906 
 
 @JeffGammage
– If you've recently spotted the hashtag #savetheunitedstates, it's not an offshoot of Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign: It's a last-ditch effort to keep the SS United States—once the fastest ocean liner on Earth—afloat instead of becoming scrap metal, the AP reports. And it looks like the Cold War-era ship is indeed getting a temporary stay, with the nonprofit conservancy that oversees it announcing Monday it's raised $100,000 from supporters around the world determined to keep the ship, currently moored in Philly, out of the hands of a metal recycler. Even this new cash influx, though, can't maintain the ship forever; the conservancy's board will be meeting later this week to talk about what comes next. "The destruction of the United States would be tantamount to destroying other national monuments like the Liberty Bell or the Statue of Liberty … we must maintain what is good and constant in our past if we are to imagine a better future," says one writer on the ship's testimonials page. That writer's name: President William Jefferson Clinton.