I can't find it either. I posted the link as a courtesy to Travel Weekly. They had reported last week that Independence would be scrapped. This was a "Clarification" at the end of this week's newsletter. Not sure why we can't find it on their site.

I found following: Toxic ship not that toxic The U.S. Coast Guard in Guam is down playing reports that the former U.S.-flag liner SS Oceanic (formerly SS Independence) poses any toxic threat to Guam. The ship left San Francisco on February 8 under tow for scrapping in India. The move has not pleased the Basel Action Network, an environmental group concerned about the export of toxic ships and has also upset preservationists who would like to see the U.S. the National Historic Preservation Act used to prevent its being scrapped. However, while the ship may present a potential hazard to those scrapping it, in an interview on a Guam radio show Captain William R. Marhoffer, Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Guam, said the ship posed no toxic risk should refueling facilties be requested in Guam. He also said no refueling request had been received--and that reports that the ship had been refused entry to Hawaii were also false. Commander Marhoffer said that the U.S. EPA might have a concern about a "potential legal risk" of export violation under the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act and not that the ship poses a public health or environmental risk.

Thanks, Willem. I suppose that the scrapping will happen :cry: :cry: I had rather imagined that she was not NEARLY as toxic as the environmentalists were claiming :!:

From Pacific News Center: Toxic Ship Not A Toxic Risk Pacific News Center Staff Reporter 26.FEB.08 5:45 p.m. Guam - There's no threat to public safety if the "toxic ship" Oceanic stops on Guam. This is the reassurance given by U.S. Coast Guard Comm. William Marhoffer after talking to his counterpart in Hawaii and to a Marine historian familiar with the Oceanic. Marhoffer, in an interview with Patti Arroyo's show On The Radio, clarified that what the Environmental Protection Agency was concerned about was the Oceanic's "potential legal risk" of export violation under the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act and not that it poses a public health or environmental risk. Marhoffer explained that through the ship's "more than 50-year of service in the passenger trade," it had been refitted several times, with its components of polychlorinated biphenyls removed, the asbestos removed or encapsulated, and the lead paint blasted and replaced with nontoxic paint. Marhoffer also said the Coast Guard has not received any request for refueling on Guam from the Oceanic. The Coast Guard has to be informed 96 hours in advance of a ship's notice of arrival. He also clarified that, contrary to what some media outlets reported, the Coast Guard in Hawaii "never turned away" the Oceanic for the simple reason that it had not received any request from the ship that it would stop there.