Independence was acquired in 1974 by Hong Kong shipping mogul C.Y. Tung (of Queen Elizabeth (1940) infamy), for a short-lived cruising project. After being laid up in 1976, Independence joined C.Y. Tung’s American Hawaii Cruises in 1979 and renamed Oceanic Independence. In 1982 she was remodeled and given back her original name. American Hawaii Cruises went bankrupt in 2001 and Independence became the property of the U.S. government.
Bound for Singapore, a year before heading to the breakers, Oceanic is towed past Alcatraz in San Francisco harbor.
In February 2003, Independence was acquired by Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) for $4 million. NCL said at the time that it planned to use the ship in a new US-flagged cruise service (United States, also acquired by NCL, would have been a fleetmate). When NCL decided not to launch the cruise service, Independence (renamed Oceanic in 2006) was again laid up (this time, in San Francisco). It was the end.
In 2009, Independence was sent to Alang on a botched voyage to the breakers. She was beached south of Alang and was scrapped on the spot in 2010.
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