[QUOTE=Bayrunner;103804] It would be a real shame to se such a beautiful ship getting cut up on a beach in some 3rd world shithole. [/QUOTE]
Asbestos and PCB containing materials such as ships cannot be exported from the US thus the ship will be scrapped in Brownsville, Texas most likely at ESCO there where they have access to plenty of cheap Mexican immigrant labor which may or may not be actually legal to work in the US. Of course, the old INDEPENDENCE sneaked out of the country on the guise that it was going to be rebuilt somewhere and it the end the US gummint didn’t prosecute anybody for than breach of the law yet I cannot see them looking the otherway for the SSUS. They certainly came down hard on the owner of the old GOLDEN BEAR (ex DEL ORLEANS, ex CRESCENT CITY) and made that one to to Texas at great expense.
Here’s a pic of the stinky old INDY after she arrived in Injah! Too bad she didn’t do like her sister and roll over and go down enroute!
[QUOTE=PaddyWest2012;103811]I have to admit it was nice to see a large corporate organization take an interest in the vessel but certainly not NCL. I cringe at the thought of the SS France V/Norway. It was good that they made her commercially viable once again after such a short career in her intended use, but what they did to her in order to make her suit their own purposes was a disgrace and an insult to such pure beauty. Under no circumstances would I support seeing glassed in verandah decks stacked up atop the SSUS.
It’s no surprise to me that testing of her hull revealed that it was in good shape. During her initial construction she may have been what essentially amounts to a “cruise ship” in wholly incorrect layman’s terms, but she might as well have been the fifth Iowa Class battleship. Keel to masthead she was absolute top of the line, government funded, real-deal, G.I. Joe, gung-ho merchandise. They built some nice stuff back in the day.[/QUOTE]
True, when I checked on her top speed I was told THAT will never be published. You can find a few sites where “knowledgeable” folks claim they know but no back-up was ever given to verify their claim.
Very interesting to read how close she came to be being operated under the Turkish flag. Would it have been wonderful or horrible? I say the latter as any flag flying from her stern not being the Stars and Stripes would have been sacrilege!
Very interesting to read how close she came to be being operated under the Turkish flag. Would it have been wonderful or horrible? I say the latter as any flag flying from her stern not being the Stars and Stripes would have been sacrilege![/QUOTE]
Actually would have been embarrassing.
Good article. Now I’m on a Google-Wikipedia picture hunt.
[QUOTE=catherder;103821]Actually would have been embarrassing.
Good article. Now I’m on a Google-Wikipedia picture hunt.[/QUOTE]
I really wished the ship had never come back to the US after she left. Sitting and rotting away like she has been for so many years now has been a sad embarrassment for the ship and the nation.
Ok so let’s say just for a second, even if this isn’t for sure, that her structural integrity is intact. I know nothing metal that sits in the water for that long is going to be 100% healthy but I think we can agree for the most part that her hull and superstructure are still pretty robust for their age. If that’s true what other reasons are there that she could not be operationally viable? I know it would require tens of millions of dollars to get her underway again but wouldn’t that still be cheaper than building a new and comparable ship? Ok, so NCL would have screwed it up, but is there really no one else who sees a business opportunity here? I certainly do. If only I could afford the investment…
[QUOTE=c.captain;103823]I really wished the ship had never come back to the US after she left. Sitting and rotting away like she has been for so many years now has been a sad embarrassment for the ship and the nation.[/QUOTE]
True indeed. She’s been though one last minute rescue after another, and with a lot of loving effort put in by the Conservancy and others- but now there just isn’t anyone with the financial backing and the willpower to see this thing through to a happy end. We’re in uncertain economic times. Nobody is going to back this project without a solid return on the investment.
[QUOTE=PaddyWest2012;103826]Ok so let’s say just for a second, even if this isn’t for sure, that her structural integrity is intact. I know nothing metal that sits in the water for that long is going to be 100% healthy but I think we can agree for the most part that her hull and superstructure are still pretty robust for their age. If that’s true what other reasons are there that she could not be operationally viable? I know it would require tens of millions of dollars to get her underway again but wouldn’t that still be cheaper than building a new and comparable ship? Ok, so NCL would have screwed it up, but is there really no one else who sees a business opportunity here? I certainly do. If only I could afford the investment…[/QUOTE]
Here’s one good reason, at least for not sailing her again: the engine room still has asbestos lagging. And it’s probably not in the best shape, in spite of the DH. It’s not like you can just tow it back to Turkey again to rip it out- there’s the Basel convention now. So who tackles that massive job?
It would have to be a pierside attraction (where’d we hear that term before) for any chance of survival.
Return to service vs a new build may be “cheaper” but would take years longer. Satisfying class, engineering design/execution, just the miles of wire for alarms etc to be replaced. I am under the impression there isn’t much left Down in the engine room. What would you even replace it with? New build is more but off the shelf design, cut steel tomorrow. The tycoon building a replica titanic is your best shot!
The fresh water in the Delaware has certainly helped. Every time I passed by that thing’s bow in the car it gave me chills. Immensely beautiful but it’s days are over. Save the stacks, wheelhouse, a prop, won’t happen but it would be something.
[QUOTE=PaddyWest2012;103826]Ok so let’s say just for a second, even if this isn’t for sure, that her structural integrity is intact. I know nothing metal that sits in the water for that long is going to be 100% healthy but I think we can agree for the most part that her hull and superstructure are still pretty robust for their age. If that’s true what other reasons are there that she could not be operationally viable? I know it would require tens of millions of dollars to get her underway again but wouldn’t that still be cheaper than building a new and comparable ship? Ok, so NCL would have screwed it up, but is there really no one else who sees a business opportunity here? I certainly do. If only I could afford the investment…[/QUOTE]
a now 60 year old hull with the most inefficient machinery imaginable for which spare parts must be made from plans…and for how many years does this vessel operate after $700M is poured into it? 30 more? and without the balcony cabins and climbing walls and atriums and umpteen restaurants and ice rinks that every modern cruiseship has? If they hadn’t gutted her then maybe she could have been sold as nostalgia cruising but at astronomical expense per passenger even if you only ran her on 4 boilers and 2 screws!
Nostalgia cruising. Like the fellow from Austrailia who is building a Titanic replica. What’s cost of his litte adventure? I bet it’s less than bringing back the SSUS. Remember, even though he’ll have to pay for new steel, he would not be burdened with all the hazardous waste remediation necessary for a 60 year old hull. Plus, interior construction would be far more cost effective starting from scratch than having to work around existing structural elements.
I ran a ship ashore in India (900 footer). Those people running the scrap operation care nothing for the workers there. I asked the owner (guy bought our ship) what they do with the food we had left. He said toss it in the ocean (plastic wrap and all). His workers looked like they could have used some food as they were all skinny. Scrap the Big U in the states with real Americans doing the labor (Texans). Use the steel to “reinvent” our country much like Alec Baldwin or Drew Barrymore have done with their careers.
allegedly the breaking yards have come a long way in the last couple years; like the deaths went from several a day to a few a month.
No way she’ll ever be back, or preserved for that matter. Hate to say it though. Imagine what kind of fuel that pig bust have burnt, even at a moderate speed?
[QUOTE=z-drive;103872]allegedly the breaking yards have come a long way in the last couple years; like the deaths went from several a day to a few a month.
No way she’ll ever be back, or preserved for that matter. Hate to say it though. Imagine what kind of fuel that pig bust have burnt, even at a moderate speed?[/QUOTE]
I heard anywhere from 500 tons to 1200 tons/d depending on speed and the other usual conditions
They do several cruises a year in the bay and the ship also goes up and down the coast for additional ones. I went on a trip with my dad and grandad a few summers ago and it was one hell of an experience. The ship is in superb condition and is clean inside and out. Even the engine room was clean (for an engine room) and open for a guided walk through. it was amazing how quiet the ship was at the stern. I would like to do it again soon.
[QUOTE=Bayrunner;103878]They do several cruises a year in the bay and the ship also goes up and down the coast for additional ones. I went on a trip with my dad and grandad a few summers ago and it was one hell of an experience. The ship is in superb condition and is clean inside and out. Even the engine room was clean (for an engine room) and open for a guided walk through. it was amazing how quiet the ship was at the stern. I would like to do it again soon.[/QUOTE]
Yeah I’m thinking that if I’m still in town this summer I may do this. As many times as I’ve driven past it, I ought to.
