Large Passenger Liners - Oceanic, 1951
Edited by David Barth, 7 December 2008
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
SS Independence is 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 8
February 2008, after being mothballed for 7 years, SS Oceanic left San Francisco for Singapore, and is currently
laid up in Dubai.
Overview
Independence measures 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."
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 8 November
2001.
SS Independence is 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 8 February 2008, after
being mothballed for 7 years, SS Oceanic left San Francisco for Singapore, and is currently laid up in Dubai.
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
- 2003-2005: California Manufacturing Corp
- 2005: Norwegian Cruise Line
- 2005-present: California Manufacturing Corp
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
Port of Registry:
- 1951-1974: New York, United States
- 1974-1979: Panama City, i Panama
- 1979-present: Honolulu, United States
Timeline:
- Ordered: 1950
- Builder: Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Quincy, Massachusetts, USA
- Yard number: 1618
- Laid down: 1950
- Launched: 3 June 1950
- Completed: 1951
- Acquired: 22 January 1951
- Maiden voyage: 10 February 1951
- In service: 1951-1969, 1974-1976, 1980-2001
- Identification: IMO 5160180
- Status: Laid up - Dubai
General characteristics (as built):
- Type: Ocean liner
- Tonnage: 23719 gross register tons (GRT)
- Displacement: 7250 metric tons of 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
- 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):
- Type: Cruise ship
- Tonnage: 23754 GRT
- Capacity: 395 passengers
General characteristics (after 1974 refit):
- Type: Cruise ship
- Capacity: 950 passengers
General characteristics (after 1980 refit):
- Type: Cruise ship
- Tonnage: 20221 GRT
- Capacity: 1073 passengers
See also:
RMS Mauretania - 1906.
RMS Titanic - 1911.
Europa - 1928.
Bremen - 1929.
SS Normandie - 1932.
RMS Queen Mary - 1934.
RMS Queen Elizabeth - 1938.
SS America - 1940.
RMS Oceanic - 1951.
SS United States - 1952.
SS France - 1960.
RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 - 1967.
RMS Queen Mary 2 - 2003.
MS Oasis of the Seas - 2009.