Last days of ocean liner SS France

The ship, now renamed the Blue Lady, was towed from Malaysia to the Pipavav Port on India's southwest coast, maritime officials said. It will remain in the port pending a Supreme Court committee's review of whether the 46,000 ton ship can be dismantled safely.

Photo: Last days of ocean liner SS France

If approved, it will be brought to the shipbreaking yard of Alang, about 35 nautical miles (65 kilometers; 40 miles) north of Pipavav, where an estimated 900 tons of asbestos will be removed before workers dismantle the luxury liner.

Greenpeace and other environmental groups went to court earlier this month in a failed bid to keep the ship out of India, claiming the asbestos and other toxic materials will sicken workers and taint the coastal environment, the AP reports.

Considered one of the last great trans-Atlantic ocean liners, the SS France was launched in 1962. During its illustrious career, the ship carried the likes of artist Salvador Dali, his pet ocelot and the Mona Lisa to an exhibition in the United States.

It was renamed the SS Norway in 1979 and become a popular cruise ship in the Caribbean. But a boiler explosion in 2003 spelled the end of its luxury liner career, forcing its last owner, Star Cruises, to sell it for scrap - much to the dismay of supporters, who have called for it to be preserved as a floating museum or hotel.