The U.S. Coast Guard and the Guam Environmental Protection Agency (GEPA) have stated that they are currently on the lookout for the SS Independence, an asbestos- contaminated cruise liner that’s reportedly headed to Guam after being refused entry to Hawaii for refueling.

According to an article in the Marianas Islands Variety News, the ship is believed to be loaded with toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and tons of asbestos, known to cause a rare form of cancer. It is being pulled by the tug ship Pacific Hickory and is on its way to India, where the 57-year-old cruises liner will be scrapped in one of that country’s infamous shipbreaking yards.

“In order for the vessel to come to Guam, they have to send a request for entry. And if they were to request entry, they have to file a 96-hour notice of arrival. They still have four days to file the request,” said Lt. Marquez Hirschberg, spokesman for Coast Guard.

Hawaii turned the SS Independence away because of the risk of contamination from all the toxic substances aboard.

“We believe [the ship is] still in Hawaii,” Hirshberg said. “The Coast Guard has the authority to prevent them from entering Guam based on Guam EPA’s recommendation. We are keeping an eye on the situation and we have been in communication with the Coast Guard legal office in Washington D.C.”

Tammy Anderson, Guam EPA’s public information officer, said the agency is on the watch but no recommendation has been made so far.

“Guam has not been officially notified (of the ship’s possible entry), so we can’t make any decision at this point,” Anderson said.

However, Guam Senator Ben Pangelinan hopes the federal government will take an official stand before the ship gets too close to the U.S. territory. Pangelinan urged the governor to immediately direct all appropriate agencies to block the contaminated ship from entering Guam’s port and waters.

“I respectfully request that you exercise all due caution on this matter that would have grave environmental consequences on the people of Guam,” Pangelinan said. “With Hawaii successfully rejecting the ship’s entry, I see no reason why Guam cannot do the same with the interest of our people’s health and safety at hand.”

The ship was mothballed for several years at a shipyard in San Francisco, leaving last week on its way to India for dismantling.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 2:02 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.