Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a federal complaint against Global Shipping and Global Marketing Systems, Inc. for distribution in commerce and export of materials containing PCBs on the old cruise liner MV Oceanic, formerly the SS Independence.
The ship is being sent by Global to be scrapped overseas, the EPA declared. The MV Pacific Hickory is towing the MV Oceanic to its final destination.
Fines against these two companies may be assessed up to $32,500 per violation per day.
“Federal law prohibits companies from exporting PCBs, including those in ships, that are sent overseas to be scrapped,” said Rich Vaille, associate director for waste program enforcement in the EPA’s Pacific Southwest region. “When companies illegally export PCB waste, they are circumventing U.S. requirements for proper disposal. PCB waste must be properly disposed to protect public health and the environment.”
“The EPA was not informed by Global of their intention to export the ship for disposal. The previous owners, Norwegian Cruise Lines, bought the ship through a wholly owned subsidiary with the intent to put it into service in the United States. The paperwork showing that Norwegian Cruise Lines had sold the vessel to Global was not submitted to the Maritime Administration until the ship had already sailed,” the EPA said.
The Basel Action Network, a global toxic trade watchdog organization based in the United States, in February alerted the EPA to the “quiet departure” of the Oceanic from San Francisco Bay on February 8 for the stated destination of Singapore.
Export of PCB materials from the United States is a violation of EPA’s Toxic Substances Control Act, said Vaille. Vessels such as the MV Oceanic, which was built in the early 1950s, were commonly constructed with PCB-containing materials including cables, electrical equipment such as capacitors and transformers, watertight seal material, and painted surfaces. Continue Reading…
February 25th, 2008 · CommentsHistoric+Ship+Independence+Barred+From+Her+Adopted+State2008-02-25+10%3A00%3A06John
Photo By Alan Light
Built in 1950 the SS Independence and her sister ship the SS Constitution were built to transport passengers between U.S. ports and the Mediterranean but with the advent of commercial aviation her usefulness as a means of transport was short lived. In 1968 she was taken from her cross Atlantic duties and shortly sold to the Atlantic Far East Line and laid up in Hong Kong, her fate unknown. By 1980 a new phenomena was born and the Indy returned to the states to serve the new Hawaiian cruise ship market. After serving for 21 years in Hawaii she became victim to the post 9/11 tourism slowdown and, with her owners bankrupt, was laid up in San Francisco.
A TUGSHIP towing a disabled cruise liner loaded with polychlorinated biphenyls or PCB and asbestos is reportedly on its way to Guam to refuel here after being refused entry in Hawaii.
The SS Independence — now called the Oceanic — is being towed by the tug ship Pacific Hickory, which needs to refuel before heading toward India, where the 57-year-old contaminated liner will be scrapped.
KITV News in Hawaii reported that the tug ship was headed to Guam, towing the SS Independence.
Activist and former senator Hope Cristobal has asked the Guam Environmental Protection Agency to stop both ships from coming anywhere near Guam.
“The ship was refused entry into the Hawaii by the State of Hawaii EPA because it poses too much health risk. Now, it is being towed toward Guam. We have reason to be very concerned,” Cristobal said. Continue Reading…
The fate of this historic ship is still unknown but we assume she’s on her way to be scrapped.
This is a”view of a newly vacant pier 70 shipyard, now that the Oceanic Independence has left to meet her doom.”
The 1950s-era ocean liner has been towed away. Where’d it go? We fear she’s en route to India, where she may be broken up for scrap. (There’s a lively debate about this taking place in the comments to our previous post on the Independence.)
Jonathan Haeber reports that “SS Independence will be towed away to the breaker beaches of Alang, India. According to two to three sources, the boat has not only been sold by Norwegian Cruise Lines, but she’s also going to leaving the U.S. this coming Thursday.” Continue Reading..
January 1st, 2008 · CommentsGhost+Ship+Tours2008-01-01+22%3A32%3A05admin
Our apologies to anyone looking for paranormal activity… you (probably) won’t find any here because by ghost ship we mean vessels no longer in service. In the U.S. most ghost ships are owned by the government. Know collectively as the Ghost Fleet, the official name for this collection of decommissioned ships is the Reserve Fleet. What is the purpose of keeping these ships around? Presumably by “mothballing” them the Navy has the chance to reactivate the vessels in the event of another world war. More commonly they are used as spare part depots, coral reefs, museum ships, or are eventually scrapped. Some, however, have uncertain futures as in the case of the SS Independence.
Telstar Logistics tells us;
During the last year or so a prominent new landmark has appeared on the San Francisco waterfront — and no, this time we’re not talking about that wretched skyscraper at One Rincon Hill. This point of interest is located a little farther south, in a Pier 70 berth at the historic Union Iron Works shipyard (now operated by BAE Systems). It’s a 1950s-vintage cruise ship, actually, and it’s unlikely that anyone passing through the city’s Dogpatch neighborhood in recent months would have missed the sight of the vessel’s distinctive smokestacks, which are painted in festive tropical colors.
The ship is the former SS Independence, and she’s now in retirement. Jonathan Haeber (aka Tunnelbug on Flickr) recently managed to get aboard the Independence, and he brought back an entire gallery’s worth of images for the rest of us to oogle.
Jonathan has the photos on his Flickr page but they can best be seen on THIS PHOTO SLIDESHOW (preview below).
Photo By Tunnelbug
This is a”view of a newly vacant pier 70 shipyard, now that the Oceanic Independence has left to meet her doom.”
