Florida has a new official Flagship.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, a U.S. Navy veteran, on Thursday signed legislation (HB 249) changing the designation from the dry-docked Schooner Western Union in Key West to the Tampa-based S.S. American Victory.
“Great to be in Tampa today to sign HB 249, designating the S.S. American Victory as Florida’s official state flagship,” DeSantis posted on X, with a photo of the bill signing ceremony aboard the World War II-era vessel.
The change in law is effective July 1.
I was proud to sign HB 249 to designate Florida’s new state flagship, the S.S. American Victory. This historic steamship is one of just a few surviving Victory Class ships built during World War II. The S.S. American Victory was deployed in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, and has been… pic.twitter.com/a6MPZ0rrjs
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 3, 2026
The 455-foot “Victory” ship was built in 55 days near the close of World War II, one of 531 Victory ships. Only three of the Victory ships remain, according to the House analysis of the bill.
Florida’s new flagship is named after American University in Washington, D.C.
After World War II, the S.S. American Victory was used to bring food and machinery to Europe, the U.S.S.R., and Asia under the Marshall Plan. The craft also continued to transport cargo and troops throughout the Korean and Vietnam wars.
For more than 20 years the merchant-marine transport vessel has been a museum at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa.
The transfer saw little opposition this year, a change from the 2025 session when Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, a Republican whose district includes Key West, argued constituents in her district weren’t “ready to give up the flagship title at this time.”
In January, when the proposal was before the Senate Military and Veterans Affairs, Space and Domestic Security Committee, Zephyrhills Republican Sen. Danny Burgess got no pushback when he described the Western Union as “a derelict schooner.”
The Schooner Western Union, dry-docked in Key West, was named the state flagship in 2012 after undergoing a million-dollar restoration. But the tall ship now sits in disrepair.
Built in Key West in 1939, the mahogany and yellow pine schooner was first named the official flagship of Key West in 1997.
Further efforts to restore the ship to seaworthiness have failed.
Great to be in Tampa today to sign HB 249, designating the S.S. American Victory as Florida’s official state flagship. The S.S. American Victory, a World War II-era vessel, is one of only three Victory Class WWII steamships that remain fully operational today.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 2, 2026
After WWII, the… pic.twitter.com/cWiv9JktBx
The House analysis notes “after several failed attempts to restore the ship to seaworthiness, the ship sat without its masts and riggings, dry docked at a privately owned marina in Key West.”
Florida law designates 43 official state symbols, ranging from the official state anthem --- “Florida, Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky” --- and Myakka Fine Sand as the state soil to orange juice as the state beverage and the Florida panther as the state animal.
The state makes some distinctions among official designations.
Key lime pie is the official state pie and strawberry shortcake with natural Florida dairy topping is the official state dessert. Also, the alligator is the state reptile, the manatee is the state marine mammal, the dolphin is the state saltwater mammal, the sailfish is the saltwater fish and the Florida bass is the state freshwater fish.
Lawmakers in the 2026 session were once again unable to rally support to replace the mockingbird from its perch of nearly 100 years as the official state bird.
The latest effort (HB 11) called for the American flamingo to be the state bird. The Senate version (SB 150) also proposed the Florida scrub-jay become the state’s songbird.
