Built at a
time when the
ocean liner was the way to cross the Atlantic, Independence and her sister ship
Constitution
were synonymous with modern passenger ship designs and the post Second
World
War heyday of transatlantic travel. Ushering in the 1950s, they became
a symbol
of American passenger shipping dashing along the “Sunny Southern Route”
between New York and Genoa, Italy.
By the 1960s, like all liners, they were fighting for their survival
due to the
impact of air travel. But unlike so many of their peers, the Independence and
her sister ship Constitution
survived and went on to have a successful second career as cruise
ships.
Design
and Construction (1947 – 1951):
Soon after
the Second World
War, American Export Lines realised that the Second World War had
dramatically
changed the profile of Atlantic travel and it would take years for the
Italian
passenger fleet to be rebuilt. As a result they saw an opportunity for
their
company and in November 1947 they unveiled designs for two fast 26,000
gt
passenger ships each capable of accommodating nearly 1000 passengers.
The
contract to build these new sister ships was awarded to Bethlehem
Steel’s Quincy, Massachusetts
shipyard on the 11th August 1948.
Construction
began on the 29th
March 1949 with the keel laying for Independence,
followed four months later by the keel laying for her sister ship
Constitution
on the 12th July 1949. Revolutionary prefabrication
techniques were
used to speed up the construction process and as a result Independence was
launched on the 3rd
July 1950 by Mrs. John Slater, wife of the president of American Export
Lines.
Her sister followed 3 months later on the 16th September
1950.
Together the sister ships were billed as the rebirth of the American
merchant
marine.
The design
of the two ships
was innovative and reflected the experiences of the Second World War.
Propelling the ships was a conservative steam turbine system divided
between
two independent engine rooms separated by a 39ft watertight
compartment.
Designed to generate a maximum rating of 55,000 shaft horsepower, with
the twin
screws being driven at 150 revolutions per minute, these engines in
fact
developed in excess of 58,000 horsepower during the sea trials. The
liners also
had electrical and distillation plants which were the largest and most
powerful
ever installed on ships of their size and a maximum emergency fuel
capacity of
about 8000 tons for a cruising radius of 22,000 miles. Similarly, each
of the
sister ships was fitted with two double effect distilling plants able
to
convert more than 240,000 gallons of sea water to fresh water each day,
more
than twice each ship’s normal daily consumption. The sister ships were
also the
first large Atlantic passenger ships to be fully air conditioned.
Subcontractors
from thirty
five states contributed to the building of these ships, which cost a
total of
$50 million. The majority of the steel came from Pennsylvania,
the wood from forests in the Northwest and Northeast, the boilers from Ohio, and the air conditioning and elevators
from New Mexico.
The ship's
architect, Henry
Dreyfuss, produced a strikingly contemporary vessel with beautifully
rounded
and terraced decks, offset by tall twin funnels and a classic counter
stern. Externally
each ship had a 682.5ft long hull, featuring a slightly raked bow and
an
overhanging counter stern, a tradition on American Export Lines ships
which
experts credit with generating an extra half knot of speed for the
vessels.
Fore and aft the desk houses were rounded and the funnels tapered for
the image
of speed. Internally the ships featured spacious lounges and dining
rooms,
comfortable cabins, an enclosed promenade deck wrapping around the
front end of
the deck, and outdoor pools and lido areas.
Both ships were designed
with provisional
trooping in mind, and were constructed to the highest safety standards.
They
were also among the first ships to be built in prefabricated sections,
which is
the standard procedure today. Their interiors were quite modern and
typically
spartan in the post war "American fireproof" style, unlike their
European contemporaries, which still utilized traditional materials and
wood
panelling. The décor combined modern designs with touches of “Americana” to
create a relaxing atmosphere.
At the
heart of the success
of these two sister ships, was their flexible passenger accommodations.
The
majority of the first and cabin class accommodation was comfortable
cabins that
converted from sitting rooms by day into bedrooms by night through the
revolutionary use of folding sofas that converted into full sized beds.
Furthermore, with the use of multiple gates and moveable barriers along
the
companionways, it was possible for their 1003 berths to be assigned
with first
class ranging between 205 and 365, cabin class between 246 and 540
berths and
tourist class between 258 and 415 berths. This convertibility of
accommodation,
which ensured that 745 berths featured the luxury fitting of first and
cabin
class, proved to be especially important in the conversion to cruise
ships
later in their careers.
In
December 1950, Independence undertook
her speed trials off the coast of Maine. There, for the
first time, her turbines would be increased to full speed, generating a
top
speed of 26.105 knots. Two months later, on a preview cruise, with the
aid of
the warm Gulf Stream waters, Independence averaged 26.21 knots during a
24 hour
endurance test and at times reached her maximum recorded speed of 26.8
knots,
well in excess of the 25 knots specified in her contract and the 22.5
knots
required to maintain her 8 day express schedule between New York, Genoa
and
Naples. She captured the title of the fastest American passenger ship,
an
honour she would hold for nearly a year and a half until the
introduction of
the superliner United
States.
American
Export Lines Era 1951 – 1974):
Independence made her maiden arrival in New York on the 22nd January 1950 and
sailed on her maiden
voyage on the 10th February 1951 from New
York
to the Mediterranean on a special 53 day gala cruise to ports including
Casablanca, Gibraltar, Naples, Athens, Haifa, Genoa and Lisbon.
Fares for this special trip ranged from $1,850 to $11,700 and the
ship’s
capacity was limited to just 450 people. Then in April 1951, Independence
began her regular transatlantic schedule from New
York
to Gibraltar, Naples, Cannes
and Genoa.
Independence and her sister ship Constitution sailed
through the
1950s earning fame and fortune. At first they faced little competition
due in
large part to the fact that Italia were just commencing construction of
Andrea
Doria and Cristoforo Colombo, which were introduced in 1953 and 1954
respectively. Independence
and Constitution had their fair share of the immigrant trade, and even
had on
board an Italian doctor and commissioner for the immigrants. But they
were also
frequented by celebrities and heads of states.
"INDY", as she was
affectionately
known, was somewhat overshadowed by her newer sister, CONSTITUTION,
which was
glamorized in film and television roles, most notably AN AFFAIR TO
REMEMBER
with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, and the famous "porthole" episode
of I LOVE LUCY. "CONNIE" was also famous for transporting Grace
Kelly's wedding party to Monaco
and was featured on the cover of Life magazine. Nonetheless, INDEPENDENCE
carried her share of
dignitaries, including President and Mrs. Truman in the summer of 1958.
Other
celebrities carried by the ships included Alfred Hitchcock, Walt
Disney, and
King Saud of Saudi
Arabia.
Both ships were immensely popular on the route that was affectionately
dubbed
the "Sun Lane".
In 1953,
the two sisters
contributed a key part of the American Export Lines’ $16.9 million in
passenger
shipping revenues. On crossings that year, the ships averaged 692
passengers
eastbound and 880 passengers westbound for a total average occupancy
rate of
over 78%. Four years later, in December 1957, as Independence embarked on her 100th
voyage, she had carried a total of 157,453 passengers during her
career.
The
success of the sister
ships prompted American Export in 1956 and 1957 to consider building a
third
ship to run with Independence
and Constitution. However the construction costs of a comparable ship
had risen
50% in the six years since the sisters’ introduction. So instead plans
turned
to ways of adding more passenger accommodation to Independence and Constitution. In
July 1958
American Export awarded a $6.7 million contract to the Newport News
Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Virginia
to modernise the liner while maintaining the three class system. The
designs
called for lengthening of the ships’ forward superstructure to create
110 new
first class berths and approximately 4000 gross tons of earning space.
The
reconstruction was carried out between January and March 1959 for
Constitution
and between February and April 1959 for Independence.
Entering
the 1960s, the
sister ships were challenged by the development of regularly scheduled
transatlantic jet airliner service, and by the introduction of Italia’s
Leonardo da Vinci and Italy’s
long postponed post Second World War transatlantic superliners
Michelangelo and
Raffaello. Like most major American passenger shipping lines, American
Export
Lines received US Government subsidies designed to put their operating
costs on
a par with their lower cost foreign flag competitors. However, the
subsidy
contracts required the shipping companies to maintain year round
service on
their “assigned essential trade routes”, forbidding cruises to
destinations
such as the Caribbean. But despite
these
constraints, Independence
and her sister ship Constitution began offering Mediterranean cruises.
Each
winter they would make an annual long cruise to the Mediterranean and,
in 1954,
during one of these cruises Independence
made
her only transits of the Suez Canal, steaming across the Indian Ocean
to Bombay and returning to the
Mediterranean via Ceylon
and Egypt.
The
popularity of the
cruising concept also led to the introduction of autumn “Sunlane
Cruises to Europe” in 1955 and by the
1957-58 season the programme
was expanded to a total of 14 cruises. In summer 1958, American Export
Lines
also introduced “Sea-Air Cruises”, today these would be called Fly
Cruises,
with the sister ships providing one way transatlantic passage and Trans
World
Airlines (TWA) providing one way passage aboard its Skyliner planes on
non-stop
overnight service across the Atlantic.
But
that same autumn, in October 1958, British Overseas Airways (BOAC) flew
the
first regularly scheduled commercial transatlantic jet airliner and
three weeks
later Pan American World Airways inaugurated daily transatlantic jet
services.
By 1960,
twice as many
passengers were crossing the Atlantic
by plane
versus ship. Suffering from this competition, the next threat came in
1961 when
the US government
temporarily stopped using the passenger ships to carry military
personnel and
their families across the Atlantic.
American
Export Lines’ passenger revenues dropped 11% during the first three
months of
1961 fuelling a lobbying effort by the American shipping lines to
revise the
subsidy contracts to permit off-season cruises beyond their ships’
normal
routes. The result was legislation permitting the American ships to
offer up to
four months of off-season cruises without losing their subsidies,
beginning in
1962.
In 1962 the cargo fleet
operators,
Isbrandtsen Company of New
York,
gained control of American Export Line, merging the two fleets to
become
American Export Isbrandtsen Lines.
On the 18th
January 1962, Independence inaugurated Caribbean cruises for the sister ships.
Constitution
followed in September 1962 and in total the sister ships’ 1962 schedule
included two winter West Indies cruises, two short Bermuda cruises, a
51 day
Mediterranean / Adriatic cruise and 25 Sunlane Mediterranean cruises,
with just
one scheduled liner voyage. But despite the shift to cruising their
passenger
loads were declining and the ships were losing money. On a Caribbean
cruise in
November 1966, Independence
sailed with just 275 passengers, 25% of her capacity.
With
yearly operating losses
nearing $5 million, in November 1967 American Export Lines appointed
the Fugazy
Travel Bureau general sales agents for a new one class service planned
for the
two sisters. Fugazy handled passenger bookings on the RMS Queen Mary’s
last
sailing from Southampton to Long
Beach, California.
The sister ships’
1968 sailing schedule included 24 Caribbean
cruises and just 8 transatlantic crossings, down from a peak of 24
crossings in
their heyday.
While the
Constitution began
cruising in January 1968, the Independence
was withdrawn from service on the 4th December 1967. She
arrived at
the Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock shipyard on the 19th
February
1968 for reconstruction into a one class cruise ship. Lacking money for
the
work and uncertain if the US Government would grant a “construction
differential subsidy” to offset the higher cost of using American
shipyards
against lower cost foreign yards, the company called for limited
structural
changes with a focus on cosmetic changes such as new carpets and
fabrics.
The
designers sought to make
a visual statement to emphasise the changes taking place aboard Independence.
Several
mural designs were considered but in the end wanting to emphasise the
warm
weather cruise ship, the designers opted for a sun design. The mural,
which was
mapped onto Independence’s
hull with surveyor’s instruments, stretched its red and orange rays
more than
400ft across the hull, superstructure, lifeboats and on to the funnels.
The
eyes of the legendary movie star Jean Harlow were placed in the centre
of the
sun. Shocking to everyone, and called the “sun face” in the United
States and
the “evil eye” in Italy, the mural lasted just six months until
November 1968
but was the first of numerous unusual paint schemes used on modern
cruise
ships.
In 1968, Independence
also changed the way passengers
dined. On the one class Caribbean
cruises,
passengers were offered “European Plan” service, in which the ship
offered a
pay-as-you-go system whereby passengers chose where and when they
wanted to
eat. The options included a traditional dining room, a Gourmet
Restaurant and
the Rib Room, a coffee shop, lido lounge, and a “Caribbean Super Club”.
Prices
ranged between $1.95 and $7.50 for lunch or dinner. While
advertisements for
Independence heralded the fact that a five day cruise could be had for
as
little as $63, passengers were only saving on average $8 per day for
the
“European Plan” service aboard Independence meaning for most people the
cost
was higher than Constitution’s “Full American Plan” which included
meals.
Independence returned to service in April 1968 with
more than
12,000 bookings for her 24 Caribbean
cruises.
Yet competition from the aeroplane and hotels, together with the higher
costs
of operating with unionised crews, was taking its toll on the ships. It
was
estimated that it cost American Export Lines $37 to produce and serve a
hamburger to a passenger at 23:00 at night. Union rules required
overtime pay
for Saturdays and Sundays.
In
September 1968 the
Constitution ended her last scheduled sailing and was sent to the
Jacksonville
Shipyards in Florida
and laid up. It was reported that she would undergone a similar
overhaul to the Independence.
But this never happened.
The Independence
meanwhile continued to sail and plans were announced for her to make a
total of
18 Caribbean cruises, mostly lasting
7 days,
between January and May 1969. However in December 1968 a longshoreman’s
strike
effectively closed ports along the US East Coast. With the crew
unwilling to
cross the union picket lines, Independence’s
sold
out Christmas to New York’s holiday
cruise was
cancelled, and she was also sent to Jacksonville
in Florida
and laid up. Less than a week later American Export Lines announced
that she
was being withdrawn and that the two ships were put up for sale.
The
rumours began to
circulate over the fate of the two sister ships. Fugazy talked of
restoring Independence’s cruise
service, while Chandris, Lauro, Holland
America
and Home Lines all toured the two ships. Chandris offered $8 million
for
Constitution in January 1970 and a new shipping firm called Wall Street
Cruises
offered to buy the Independence.
However the unions protested the sale of the sister ships to foreign
flag
operators and the Government officials who had to approve the ships’
sale due
to the subsidy contract rejected the Chandris offer on the grounds of
national
defence. Wall Street Cruises continued trying for two years to complete
the
deal but in the end gave up and chartered other ships instead.
Orient
Overseas Line Era 1974 – 1978):
In
February 1974 with the
Government legislation passed to permit Constitution’s sale to foreign
owners,
Atlantic Far East Lines (part of the C.Y. Tung Group) acquired the two
sister
ships.
Constitution
was sold for
$2.5 million and if permission was granted to allow Independence to be transferred to a
foreign
flag operation then they would pay $2.9 million for her as well.
Otherwise they
would pay $2.5 million to buy the Independence
and use her as spare parts for the Constitution.
Constitution
was sold and
renamed Oceanic Constitution and registered in Panama
she left Jacksonville under tow in
April 1974
bound for the Far East. With her
future
uncertain and needing refurbishment and mechanical work, she was
anchored in Hong Kong in August 1974.
Meanwhile
the sale of the
Independence to foreign owners was approved in June 1974 and soon after
she
went to the Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock yard for repairs and
structural
changes mostly focussing on the addition of private bathrooms to the
former
tourist class staterooms. On the 24th April 1975, after
being
renamed Oceanic Independence and registered in Panama,
she set sail for Durban
on her first cruise for Orient Overseas Line. These cruises were
shortlived and
in September 1975, having sailed on just 6 cruises, Oceanic
Independence was
chartered to run refugee trips from Angola
to Lisbon.
After four refugee trips she sailed to Hong Kong
where she joined the Oceanic Constitution and was laid up in 1976.
American
Hawaii
Cruises Era (1978 – 2001):
In 1978
American Hawaii
Cruises was set up by the members of the Tung family and the Oceanic
Independence was transferred to the ownership of this new company. She
would be
operated as a cruise ship in Hawaii,
a potentially lucrative but closed market. Known as “inter-coastal”
service,
cruises either between California and
Hawaii or around the Hawaiian
Islands would, by US
maritime law, require a ship operating under
the American flag, registered and built in America.
With
legislation pending to
restore Oceanic Independence to the American register, the ship was
moved from
Hong Kong, arriving at the China Shipbuilding shipyard in Taiwan
on the
23rd July 1979. There her main boilers were retubed,
turbines
repaired, lifeboats repaired, hull sandblasted and painted and a new
bow
thrusters and sewerage systems were installed while the work of
converting her
interiors began. In March 1980 the Oceanic Independence sailed under
her own
power from China to
the
Kawaski Shipyard in Kobe,
Japan
for completion of the work.
Oceanic Independence
completed her sea trials on the 21st May 1980 and two weeks
later
departed Japan for Honolulu, Hawaii.
Her 21st June 1980 maiden voyage restored American flag
passenger
services, and she offered seven-day cruises departing each Saturday
from
Honolulu on the island of Oahu and calling at Nawiliwili on Kauai,
Kahului on
Maui, and Kona and Hilo both on the Island of Hawaii.
On the 24th
September
1981, Oceanic Independence sustained minor damage off the coast of Nawiliwili, however
passengers
were off the ship and flown home. In October she headed for San Francisco
for repairs, after which she
returned to service. In 1982, American Hawaii Cruises Inc. became part
of the
American Global Line, Inc, and to the joy of Americans, she was renamed
SS
Independence once again.
Meanwhile
the Oceanic
Constitution was towed from Hong Kong and arrived in Taiwan
on the 15th
February 1981. She joined her sister in Hawaii
and sailed on her maiden voyage on the 6th June 1982. The
two sister
ships once again were reunited and in service.
Over the
next decade the
sister ships sailed around the Hawaiian Islands.
In 1983 American Hawaii Cruises embarked its 100,000 passenger and in
January
1985 Constitution on her 139th Hawaii voyage surpassed her own
100,000
passenger mark. In 1987 the ships were sold by the Tung family to an
investment
group, but in 1993 American Hawaii Cruises went bankrupt and was sold
to the
Delta Queen Steamboat Company. Yet the sister ships sailed on with the
promise
of major reconstruction by their new owners.
In July
1994 Independence left Hawaii
to begin an extensive overhaul at the Newport News Shipbuilding yard in
Norfolk, Virginia,
where she had been rebuilt in 1959. At a projected cost of more than
$30
million, the 1994 overhaul called for extensive machinery overhauls and
modification of the passenger spaces. It was determined that Independence
needed replacement of steel in
her outboard tanks delaying her return to service until November 1994.
In March
1995 Constitution
was taken out of service for a similar overhaul and headed to the
Cascade
General Shipyard in Portland,
Oregon for survey.
However due to
the financially weak position of the owners it was instead decided to
lay up
the Constitution. . She was again supplying the Independence
with spare parts by 1996, while her owners lobbied the US Government to
permit
them to buy and build new ships for Hawaii
and the American flag. As the legislation passed, the fate of the
Constitution
was sealed. On the 5th November 1997 the Constitution left Oregon under tow for the Far
East
destined either for a scrap yard or further service. However on the 17th
November 1997 about 700 miles north of Honolulu, Hawaii
she sank. As a result only
the Independence remained as the last
survivor of
the two sister ships and for a while continued to cruise in the Hawaiian Islands. In August 1999, INDEPENDENCE
began her 1000th Hawaiian cruise
with American Hawaii Cruises.
However in
October 2001 her
owners declared bankruptcy. On the 20th October 2001 the Independence completed her last cruise in Hawaii.
US
Maritime Administration Era (2001 – 2003):
Ten days later on the 30th
October 2001 she set sail without passengers from Honolulu
for San Francisco,
California where she
arrived on the 8th
November 2001. The fireboat Phoenix
greeted and
accompanied Independence from the Golden Gate Bridge to the San
Francisco-Oakland Bay
Bridge. The SS Independence was now the property of the US Maritime
Administration, docked was at the former Alameda Naval Station. On the
25th
January 2002: she was moved to San
Francisco’s pier 50.
On the 5th March
2002, SS Independence departed assisted by two tugs heading for Suisun Bay,
where the US
reserve fleet is located. However, she was returned to her San Francisco berth due to her mast was damaged
whilst going under the Carquinez Bridge. The top of the
mast snapped off just above the radar. Finally on the 12th
April,
the Independence was finally laid up in
Suisuin Bay,
California
together with other US
mothballed vessels of the reserve fleet. Soon thereafter the US
Maritime
Administration put her up for auction.
Norwegian
Cruise Line Era and the Final Years (2003 –
Present):
Soon
Norwegian Cruise Line
with US Government permission announced plans to start NCL America, a Hawaii based
cruise
line. Then in a surprise move in April 2003 NCL purchased the Independence
and ‘borrowed’ the United
States, the last two surviving US
built
ocean liners.
NCL stated that it would
survey both ships and develop plans to potentially return them to
service. After
the announcement SS Independence was moved on 11th April
2003 to the
former Mare Island Naval Base in Vallejo.
On the 26th
July
2004, she was returned to San Francisco
from Mare
Island
under tow, and was taken Pier 70. However today in 2006 the Independence
remains laid up in San
Francisco
with an uncertain future. On the 23rd May 2006 it was noted
that her
name Independence
had been painted out and replaced with Oceanic.
But if the
recent treatment
by Star Cruises (owners of NCL) of the Norway
(former S.S. France) and the current controversy over her proposed
scrapping in India
is
anything to go by
this would give great concern about their intentions regarding Independence. We
therefore consider that the Independence
faces an
uncertain future in the ownership of Star Cruises / NCL with scrapping
a very
real possibility. On the 20th August 2007 NCL / Star Cruises sold the
Oceanic (former Independence) to an Indian investor, with the intention
that she is then sold on to Indian shipbreakers for scrapping at
Alang. They haven't sold the ship direct to Indian shipbreakers so as
to avoid the controversy caused by the S. S. Norway. At least this is
what NCL / Star Cruises hope. So sadly it seems that the Independence
is destined for scrapping at the beaches of Alang in India.
A sad end
to a fine classic American ocean liner. NCL / Star Cruises have done it
again!
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