An ocean liner that cruised Hawai'i waters for more than two decades is the focus of a complaint by the federal Environmental Protection Agency over a move to scrap the ship overseas despite the presence of cancer-causing chemicals in some of the materials built into it.

The EPA yesterday issued a complaint against two ship brokers for exporting the PCB-containing materials that are part of the MV Oceanic, formerly known as the SS Independence, which is now being shipped overseas on a final voyage to be scrapped. The ship regularly sailed Hawai'i waters for American Hawai'i Cruises in the 1980s and 1990s.

Hawai'i EPA spokesman Dean Higuchi said the vessel apparently left San Francisco last month. The ship brokers are Global Shipping and Global Marketing Systems Inc. The federal agency said fines against the two brokers may be assessed up to $32,500 per violation per day.

The ship brokers have 30 days to file an answer to the complaint to avoid a penalty assessment without a hearing.

The MV Pacific Hickory is towing the MV Oceanic to its final destination, he said.

The EPA was not informed by the brokers of their intention to export the ship for disposal. The previous owner, Norwegian Cruise Lines, bought the ship through a wholly owned subsidiary, saying it planned to put the ship into service in the United States.

The paperwork showing that Norwegian Cruise Lines had sold the vessel to Global was not submitted to the Maritime Administration until the ship had already sailed, Higuchi said.

He said the ship is believed to now be in international waters, perhaps between Guam and Saipan. "We're not quite sure of the final destination at this point," Higuchi said. "There's a lot of questions."

The EPA is focusing on what appears to be the illegal "export" of the chemical, which is documented as a cause of cancer, Higuchi said. He said the federal agency would have favored the ship being cleaned of toxic chemicals in the United States before it went anywhere else.

Vessels such as the MV Oceanic, which was built more than 50 years ago, were commonly constructed with PCB-containing materials, including cables, electrical equipment such as capacitors and transformers, watertight seal material, and painted surfaces.

The PCBs are identified as a severe environmental threat, Higuchi said.

"Federal law prohibits companies from exporting PCBs, including those in ships, that are sent overseas to be scrapped," said Rich Vaille, associate director for waste program enforcement in the EPA's Pacific Southwest region. "When companies illegally export PCB waste, they are circumventing U.S. requirements for proper disposal. PCB waste must be properly disposed to protect public health and the environment."

The vessel was built in 1949 in Massachusetts and first set sail in 1950. It was moved to Hawai'i in 1980, where it sailed weekly interisland cruises until American Hawaii Cruises declared bankruptcy in late 2001.

In 2003, Norwegian Cruise Line purchased the SS Independence and the SS United States, saying the company planned to use both ships for U.S.-flag cruises among domestic ports on the Mainland and not in Hawai'i.

The cruise line purchased the Independence at a federal auction from the U.S. Maritime Administration for $4 million — a move that saved the vessel from the scrap heap.

According to a federal audit, American Classic Voyages — parent of American Hawai'i — cost taxpayers $330 million when it went bankrupt in October 2001. The cruise line had received about $1.3 billion of federal loan guarantees that included backing for the construction of two ships under Project America, a program supported by Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawai'i.

Export of PCB materials from the United States is a violation of EPA's Toxic Substances Control Act.

More than 1.5 billion pounds of PCBs were manufactured in the United States before the EPA banned the production of this chemical class in 1978. The material was commonly used in paints, industrial equipment, plastics, and rubber products.

The EPA banned the chemicals after PCBs were shown to cause cancer in animals and adversely affect the nervous, immune, and endocrine systems in humans.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.