SS Independence

SS "Independence" was an ocean liner built in 1951 by Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Quincy, Massachusetts, USA for American Export Lines. In 1959 she 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 February 8 2008, after being mothballed for 7 years, SS "Oceanic" left San Francisco for Singapore, and is evidently laid up in Dubai.

Overview

"Independence" measured 683 feet 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. 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 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." ["The Independence," "Life", 19 February 1951, p. 53.]

This ship was used for much of the action of the famous romantic movie, "An Affair to Remember."

SS "Oceanic" is the last US built ocean liner to sail under the American flag. She is a sister ship to SS|Constitution, which sank while under tow to be scrapped in 1997.

Following the 2001 bankruptcy of American Global Line, 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 November 8, 2001.

Owner

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 Jones 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.

SS "Oceanic" was towed out of San Francisco Bay on February 8, 2008. Its final destination was revealed to be Singapore, but was changed to Dubai.Fact|date=February 2008 Rumors had been swirling that the ship was destined for a scrapyard in India or Bangladesh [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/09/BAQ4UV6PT.DTL Last U.S. Ocean Liner Heads into the Unknown San Francisco Chronicle. 9 February 2008.] ] , 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. [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/21/BA4LVNFIM.DTL Independence sails into a new set of problems] ] .

ee also

*SS United States
*SS Constitution
*SS France (1961)

References

External links

* [http://www.ssmaritime.com/ss-independence-constitution.htm History and photos of "Constitution" and "Independence"]
* [http://www.maritimematters.com/independence.html S.S. INDEPENDENCE: Maritime Matters]
* [http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Independence.html Independence Ocean Liner and Cruise Ship Independence Postcards and Photographs]
* [http://telstarlogistics.typepad.com/telstarlogistics/2007/12/a-sneak-peek-in.html Telstar Logistics: Exploring the Ghost Ship SS Independence]
* [http://www.terrastories.com/bearings/breaking-news-ss-independence-leaving-san-francisco Bearings » Blog Archive » Breaking News SS Independence Leaving San Francisco]
* [http://CaptSf.com/ICF2007ride/Oceanic1a.jpg09/16/2007 Long shot of "Oceanic" @ Pier 70, SF, by CaptSF]
* [http://CaptSF.com/ICF2007ride/Oceanic2a.jpg09/16/2007 Closer pic of "Oceanic" @ Pier 70, SF, by CaptSF]
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/tunnelbug/sets/72157601924077145/ Current interior photos.]
* [http://cruises.about.com/cs/shipprofiles/a/independence.htm SS Independence Ocean Liner - Cruise Ship Profile]