Former Ocean Liner/Cruise Ship SS Independence wrecked off Alang, India...

[Dennis Donovan]

http://maritimematters.com/2010/06/sad-endependence/

<snip>
They are almost too surreal to be true but they do coincide with what I was able to see in person from a four mile distance off Gopnath at about the same time (March of 2010). Unfortunately, I was prevented from hiring a boat by the local authorities who guaranteed me a jail sentence (or worse) if I even tried. It was not worth the risk.

For those who might still think the ship is not in such a state, there are Indian television news reports that show PLATINUM II down by the stern, prior to the hull splitting. The break, which is similar to that of the AMERICAN STAR (ex AMERICA at Fuerteventura), could easily have been caused by the hull resting on an uneven surface, the stress of the 30 foot tidal variance and the extremely strong currents in the Gulf of Cambay. In any case, if I am wrong and these are Photoshopped images, the perpetrator was highly skilled and went through great pains to dupe us. But I do not think I am wrong.</snip>



Much more at link.

She cruised the San Fran to Honolulu route until 2001. The travel decline after the 9/11 attacks did her in. San Fran DUers will also remember she sat in Suisun Bay and at Mare Island for years after her forced retirement.

SS Independence in happier times:



In the 60's and 70's, she sported this paint job:


Good bye, old girl...:(

[TheCentepedeShoes]

1. My aunt sailed to Naples on her in 1956 or 1957

She had recently graduated HS and married her sweetie, who had just graduated college and gotten drafted into the Army
He was stationed in Italy and she was going over to join him
Their first son was born in Italy
She's only about 10 years older than I am and I thought it was way cool to be sailing to Italy

[Dennis Donovan]

5. Her, and her sister, the SS Constitiution, sailed for the American Export Lines...

Ironically, the Connie sunk on the way to the breakers, too.

[Bluebear]

16. The Connie was a star of I Love Lucy back in the 50's

when the Mertzes and Ricardos went to Europe :)

[Rhiannon12866]

2. K&R. Tragic, painful to look at...

;(

[Dennis Donovan]

6. Agreed. NCL purchased her and the SS United States back in 2003...

...intending to refit both and then put them in cruise service in the Pacific. Unfortunately, the "Indy" was too far gone and the "Big U" is presently up for sale and will likely be scrapped:

http://ssunitedstatesconservancy.org/SSUS/blog/

[Rhiannon12866]

7. Are "cruises" really the only alternative?

Though that use rescues the ship, it seems awfully frivolous and ignores a fascinating part of history. :shrug: :(

Reminds me of a boat I knew well, used to spend its winters in dry dock across the road from where I lived. The Ticonderoga, once a Navy ship, is gone now, too. ;(

[Dennis Donovan]

8. In the case of SSUS, she's better suited to be a pierside convention center...

Although her hull and machinery are in great shape (for a 58 year old ship), he oil-fed boilers are way beyond cost-effective and, of course, about as anti-green as ship propulsion goes. She was taken to Turkey in 1993 and her interior was stripped (removing all of the asbestos), so she's a blank canvas now. She could be redone as a floating convention center - her profile is certainly recognizable and unique:


That's the first time I've seen a pic of the second Ticonderoga! I'll be damned - she was an old LST!!

[Rhiannon12866]

10. Wow! That is certainly one impressive looking ship!

It would be a crime for such a magnificent vessel to go to waste, and not just because of the history. Sounds like she's been made ready for anything, to me. :)

And that's the only on-line pic I could find of the Ticonderoga of my youth. The two boats, the Ti and the Mohican, used to turn around at the Northern end of Lake George, within view of my window which looked straight down the lake, during the summers when I was a kid in Ti. And I know that I told you that the Ti was in dry dock during the winters, right on the shore, just down the road across the street from my house. My Dad used to take us to visit... :)

And, yes, this ship served during WWII, that I know of. There was a previous Ticonderoga, before my time, that's on display in Shelburne, but this is the one I knew. It broke my heart when she was replaced, scrapped, I heard, believe in the late '80s. I was able to ride on it several times, as a kid. And I'm sure we have photos. My brother and I used to argue which boat was the best. He liked the Mohican, but I loved the Ti. :loveya:

[Dennis Donovan]

11. SSUS ranks only second (to CGT's Normandie) in asthetic beauty

William Francis Gibbs (SSUS's designer) hit a home run with her!

FYI, here's Normandie:


I've seen the older Ticonderoga at the Shelburne museum (from afar), but never saw Ti II. The Mohican is, IIRC, a much smaller boat, isn't it?

Another fun fact about SS Indy - her cabins were designed by the great Henry Dreyfuss!

[Rhiannon12866]

14. Yikes! That IS a beautiful ship, with titanic proportions... ;)

And I'm all for using them for any constructive purpose that will leave them intact and allow people to see and appreciate them. We won't be seeing ships of this type anymore, since the cost to build them would certainly be prohibitive, and they're a link to our past, not the future... :(

I've never seen the old Ti, except in photos in my parents' albums. My Dad is standing with a baby, assume it's me, but I was way too young to remember. Strangely, that has to have been my only visit to Shelburne. :shrug:

And you're right, the Mohican is a much smaller boat, and the only one that still travels to the North part of the lake, last I knew. When the Ticonderoga was still in service, they both did. However, despite its size, I've heard that the Mohican kicks up a hell of a wake! ;)

[Dennis Donovan]

15. Hopefully, they can find a good use for her in the future short of becoming razor blades...

Unsure if you still have Google Earth on your computer, but if you click this link, and allow it to run, it should open GE for you and you can see the old Ti in Shelburne:
http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=147015&filename=cl-02-06-06-623558811.kmz

Yep, the Mohican kicks up a helluva wake - ask the passengers of the Ethan Allen.:evilfrown:

[Rhiannon12866]

20. Thank you!

That will probably be the only way I'll ever see it... :(

And the Ethan Allen saga drags on... x(

Ethan Allen lawsuit settled - 08/11/09
http://poststar.com/news/local/article_47a3baff-8f9c-5694-8144-00531a7eaa0c.html

Ethan Allen lawsuit headed for trial - 03/08/10
http://poststar.com/news/local/article_80f63184-2ae0-11df-9263-001cc4c002e0.html

Judge: Ethan Allen victims can sue NY - 04/16/10
http://poststar.com/news/local/article_56c84cd4-499a-11df-a366-001cc4c03286.html

[david13]

3. I am not at all familiar with this boat. However, a boat, like just

about anything else has a finite life. And this one is clearly beyond it's end.
The big problem is the outrageous cost to maintain a boat of this size. Imagine the paint bill, just to start.
And you can not use just Home Depot paint.
Etc.
It does remind me of a similar boat that has been on the bottom in Ensenada harbor for 15 or 20 years.
(If it's still there).
dc

[Dennis Donovan]

4. That was the SS Catalina...

They removed her a few years ago...

[david13]

9. Shore was. I first saw it down there in about 1992 or so, when it

first was taken down there. My friend couldn't figure out what it was, so we went over, and it was still floating then. They had one Mexican who sort of hung around near it. We talked to him and I think we determined he was the 'security guard'. But I don't think he ever told us who paid him to stand out there by it.
A few years later it sank and we saw it in the above condition.
There were efforts here to bring it back and all, but the cost would have been prohibitive, and it would have never justified the ocst. No one would pay to go on it or anything.
The Mexicans regularly threatened to cut it up for scrap, but basically to get more storage fee on it.
So many of us rode on it to Catalina as kids.
I haven't been to Ensenada for a few years so I didn't know it was removed. But it definitely looks bad in this photo.
I almost went 2 weeks ago. (To Ensenada) It's a nice motorcycle ride from here.
dc

[Dennis Donovan]

19. There was a half-hearted effort to raise her about 10 years ago, but...

...it obviously failed. ;-)

[Octafish]

12. Out of this world paintjob.

I saw her in San Juan (Puerto Rico) harbor in the early '70s. The photo doesn't do justice to the stunning sunrise paint job, something out of Peter Max. Those Betty Grable eyes...

[Dennis Donovan]

18. Probably the MOST unique paint scheme on a liner EVER!

...next to the dazzle-painted troopers in WW1, of course:

[Liberal In Texas]

13. It's sad we're losing these old liners one by one. The "Norway" was sent to Alang in '07.

The SS Norway/SS France was another classic liner now lost forever.
I sailed on her in '85 she was a beautiful ship.


In her heyday.


At Alang just before scrapping.

[Dennis Donovan]

17. Many ocean liner enthusiasts (myself included) fought to save her...

...but NCL refused to sell her to anyone but but the scrappers. She was the one of the last of the classic liners (after QE2 and SSUS).