SS Independence

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Oceanic Leaving SF.jpg
SS Oceanic being towed out of San Francisco Bay, 8 February 2008
Career
Name: 1951—1974: Independence
1974—1982: Oceanic Independence
1982—2006: Independence
2006—present: Oceanic
Owner: 1951—1974: American Export Lines
1974—1979: Atlantic Far East Lines
1989—1982: American Hawaii Cruises
1982—1996: American Global Line
1996—2001: American Hawaii Cruises
2001—2003: United States Maritime Administration[citation needed]
2003—2005: California Manufacturing Corp
2005: Norwegian Cruise Line
2005—present: California Manufacturing Corp[1]
Operator: 1951—1969: American Export Lines
1969—1974: laid up
1974—1976: Atlantic Far East Lines
1976—1980: laid up/rebuilt
1980—1982: American Hawaii Cruises
1982—1996: American Global Line
1996—2001: American Hawaii Cruises
2001—2008: laid up[1]
Port of registry: 1951—1974: New York,  United States
1974—1979: Panama City,  Panama
1979—present: Honolulu,  United States[1]
Ordered: 1950[citation needed]
Builder: Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Quincy, Massachusetts, USA
Yard number: 1618[1]
Laid down: 1950[citation needed]
Launched: 3 June 1950[1]
Completed: 1951
Acquired: 22 January 1951[1]
Maiden voyage: 10 February 1951[1]
In service: 1951—1969, 1974—1976, 1980—2001
Identification: IMO 5160180[1]
Status: Laid up - Dubai
General characteristics (as built)[1]
Type: Ocean liner
Tonnage: 23,719 gross register tons (GRT)
Displacement: 7,250 metric tons deadweight (DWT)
Length: 208.01 m (682.45 ft)
Beam: 27.18 m (89.17 ft)
Draft: 9.20 m (30.18 ft)
Decks: 12[citation needed]
Installed power: 2 × Bethlehem Steel Corporation steam turbines
combined 40456 kW
Speed: 22 knots (41 km/h)
Capacity: 1000 passengers
General characteristics (after 1959 refit)[1]
Type: Cruise ship
Tonnage: 23,754 GRT
Capacity: 395 passengers
General characteristics (after 1974 refit)[1]
Capacity: 950 passengers
General characteristics (after 1980 refit)[1]
Tonnage: 20,221 GRT
Capacity: 1073 passengers

SS Independence is an ocean liner built in 1951 by Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Quincy, Massachusetts, USA for American Export Lines. In 1959, Independence was rebuilt as a cruise ship. Between 1974 and 1982 she sailed as SS Oceanic Independence, after which she reverted to her original name. Since 2006 the ship has been named SS Oceanic. On 8 February 2008, after being mothballed for 7 years, SS Oceanic left San Francisco for Singapore, and is currently off the west coast of India [2].

SS Independence was a sister ship to the SS Constitution, which sank while under tow en route to be scrapped in 1997.

Contents

[edit] Overview

SS Independence at Aloha Tower, Honolulu, HI 2001

Independence measures 683 feet (208 m) in length and 23,719 gross register tons. She was capable of cruising at 26 knots. She accommodated 1,000 passengers, and was designed to accommodate 5,000 soldiers during wartime[citation needed]. According to Life magazine, "It will house passengers in Henry Dreyfuss-designed cabins, apartments, and 'penthouses,' keep their shipboard spirits up with branches of Fifth Avenue shops, handsome public rooms and bars decorated with old tattoo designs, collections of ships in bottles and Early American silver. Late American devices include 125 feet (38 m) of picture windows in the observation lounge, polarized glass in portholes to control light and glare, and bedside telephones from which a passenger can phone anyone within 5,000 miles."[3]

SS Oceanic is the last US built ocean liner to sail under the American flag.

Following the 2001 bankruptcy of American Hawaii Cruises, the owners of the American Hawaii Line, SS Independence became the property of the US Maritime Administration and sailed from Honolulu to San Francisco, arriving on 8 November 2001.

[edit] Owner

SS Oceanic (right) laid up at Pier 70 San Francisco, with the Hanjin COSCO Busan under repair next to her, following its collision with the Bay Bridge

In February 2003, Independence was sold at auction for US$4 million to Norwegian Cruise Line, which also acquired SS United States. At this time, NCL received permission to create US flagged cruise operation, to be named NCL America. (US flagging is a valuable competitive advantage, as the Passenger Vessel Service Act prohibits non-US lines from transporting passengers from one US port to another without stopping at a foreign port, and in particular it permits 7-day Hawaii cruises. As US flagging requires US-built ships, no other major cruise operation is US-flagged.)

In mid-2006, Independence was renamed Oceanic, amid speculation she may be scrapped. In July 2007, Norwegian Cruise Line announced that Oceanic had been sold with later reports claiming the ship had been purchased by an American company.

[edit] Departure from San Francisco

SS Oceanic was towed out of San Francisco Bay on 8 February 2008. Its final destination was revealed to be Singapore, but was changed to Dubai.[citation needed] Rumors had been swirling that the ship was destined for a scrapyard in India or Bangladesh[4], but has been stopped due to a complaint filed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency that the ship was being towed to a overseas scrap yard.[5].

Global Marketing Systems, last owners of the Oceanic, was fined $518,500 for exporting the ship for scrap without prior removal of toxins such as asbestos and PCBs.[6][7]

[edit] Disguise and Rejection from Alang Breaker Yard

In October 2009, a ship claiming to be the "SS Platinum-II" was turned away from the Alang breaker yard in India when it was discovered the ship was actually the SS Oceanic/SS Independence. Indian authorities alleged that it had been renamed and supplied with falsified papers in order to evade regulations on toxic materials.[8][9]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Micke Asklander. "T/S Independence (1951)" (in in Swedish). Fakta om Fartyg. http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/independence_1951.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-05. 
  2. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8351957.stm
  3. ^ "The Independence," Life, 19 February 1951, p. 53.
  4. ^ Last U.S. Ocean Liner Heads into the Unknown San Francisco Chronicle. 9 February 2008.
  5. ^ Independence sails into a new set of problems
  6. ^ http://www.maritimematters.com/shipnews.html
  7. ^ http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/tag/oceanic/
  8. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8351957.stm
  9. ^ http://www.tehelka.com/story_main43.asp?filename=Bu241009tox_ship.asp

[edit] External links

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