Should Qe2 Return To The Clyde?, Iconic cruise liner faces scrapyard Options

[GG]

She is arguably the most famous ship afloat, certainly the most graceful, and she remains a potent symbol of the once-unrivalled industrial prowess of working-class Glaswegians. However, less than two years since the QE2 arrived in Dubai to be converted into a floating hotel, the fastest ocean liner ever built now faces being broken up and sold for scrap.

The worldwide recession which has affected Dubai's tourism industry now makes the plan for a luxury hotel unsustainable. A plan to sail the liner to a new berth in South Africa failed last year, and a new rescue plan which could take the Clyde-built QE2 to Fremantle in Western Australia for the Sailing World Championships in 2011 has not been realised.

There are now real fears that the world-famous liner could be broken up and sold for scrap to raise funds for the struggling Arab company which bought the QE2 from Cunard for £65.3m at the height of the property boom.

One former captain of the QE2, Ian McNaught, who sailed the ship on a farewell voyage up the Clyde in 2008, spoke of his concerns for the liner:

"Those of us who love the ship are concerned that it will end up being sold for scrap. The economic downturn means all those plans for the future in Dubai have come to nothing and it is simply languishing in a dock.

It is still a fully functional ship and could sail anywhere in the world. But the owners seem reluctant to give any indication as to their plans for her.

One hears rumours, and of course what people are saying is that it will be run aground on a beach in the Indian Ocean and broken up piece by piece, like so many great ships before her. That would be an absolute tragedy."

Captain McNaught added that he thought that the natural home for the QE2 would be a return to Glasgow, the city where it was built in the sixties and where there is still immense enthusiasm for the liner. He added:

I believe it would be one of the UK's biggest tourist attractions if the QE2 was berthed on the Clyde. You only have to look at the Royal Yacht Britannia in Leith to see that there is an appetite for attractions of that sort.

Personally, I would love to see the ship return to Glasgow, but as long as it can have a secure future that would be the most important thing.

Birthday Tribute to the QE2 and the River Clyde

GG.

[polarbear1948]

I was on the QE2 as a steward waiter then barman for 10 years also the old Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth for 6 years; I do think that the QE2 and the old Queen Mary should have remained in the Clyde as a hotel or a token of genius for the shipbuilders in the Clyde. Both Harland and Wolf in Belfast and John Brown and other shipbuilders in the Clyde were the world’s best shipbuilders. Every ship I sailed on during my 30 years at sea was built mostly in the Clyde also Belfast, I did object to those Arabs getting our flagship.

[jock]

The old Queen Mary is still alive and kicking and is open daily in Long Beach, California, also there is a full page Ad. in today's Los Angeles Times by the New York Film Academy for a 103 day tour around the world on the Queen Mary 2. The tour starts in New York and ends in Southampton.
Surely there must be some useful, active life for the QE2!

[Jupiter]

There is no doubt that there is great support for the ship to come to Scotland but without financial assistance from the government which would be unlikely the masive price tag is enough to put any investor off.My information is that beneath the veneer the ship is really dated and clapped out particularly in the engineering department.
The ship will lie in dock a few years and deteriorate to a point where it is only it for scrap.Sad but inevitable.
MacPhail,McPhail more steam!
Joop

[Elma]

The QE2 should be taken back to the river of her birth, should that be berth . Surely there is a company, bank? somewhere in Glasgow who could finance the move. As has been said the Queen Mary is a successful restaurant and tourist destination in L.A. now, couldn't the same be done for the Elizabeth 2 and Glasgow?

[the brauns]

I sailed from Glasgow to New York many years ago on the QE2. I was very young but I still remember her beauty. It would be wonderful if she were returned to Glasgow and made into a restaurant on the Clyde.

[Jupiter]

Due to the condition of the River Clyde(Navigational) I think the nearest the ship could get to Glasgow would be Greenock.

[**Harry Greenwood**]

I voted Yes and I would like to see an icon return to the Clyde. However I have reservations! It would have to be a meaniful appearance in the form of containing a history of shipbuilding and what the workers of Glasgow contributed before and since the building of the QE2. I belong to the generation which saw the lives of thousands of Glasgow families transformed from hardship to prosperity when the Cunarder 534 was load down in John Brown's Yard in 1930 and then launched in 1934 as the Queen Mary. Glasgow gained jobs and dignity and the lights came on in many subsidary industries. We as Glasgow citizens should have the great ship here and not in Long Beach California. I am also concerned about the manner of administering such an icon since Glasgow Council are not up to the task and I don't want to see the operation privatized. The QE2 has not the same significance as the great lady of pre-war days the Queen Mary.

[Melody]

That film would make yer heart burst with pride for the men who built that absolute wonder. I remember watching the launch on the day it was so exciting to watch the majesty of it all. I wish we could have her back in Glasgow where she belongs.

[*John Mack*]

Yes it would be great to have her back on the Clyde but whp could afford it.I am sure we could get a couple of ex Clyde ship and put them in thedry docks that are laying there empty. Are we just going to fill them with rubble and build more flats on them. We have no decent ships to represent the shipbuilding industry of the Clyde. Oh how I wish we had some boats sailing up and down the Clyde. Its a dead river. Other major European cities have river boat busses, launches keep their river alive. Not us

[mrssnuffy]

Having worked for a company that helped build the QE2 and also having had the pleasure to sail on her, I would love to see her return to Clyde. The last of the great liners built on the Clyde should return to her roots.

[**greta**]

I always thought that Queen Mary should have been brought back to the Clyde, I can mind sailing down the Clyde on her as a wee yin with my parents, a lot of pride. Of course she should be brought back to the Clyde, she should never have been anywhere else. Shes the pride of the nation, everyone on this earth knows the name QE2. I am horrified that she may be broken up on some foreign shore, we cant , cant, cant , allow this to happen. We should start a petition through Glasgow, to bring this great and amazing Lady home to her own wee shores . FLOWER OF SCOTLAND.

[George Brown]

I certainly would like to see some token reminder of the Clydes' past, after all looking at the city centre reaches of the river today it is hard to describe to any one how industrially conjested the river was, not so long ago in its history as regarding the QE2 I think this would be great, but have reservations on maintenance I think this would be tantamount to criminal negligence if after the 'novelty' of the ships' presence wore off and escalating running and maintenance costs were the cause of a slow deterioration in its condition. It might be that an element of the structure could utilised as hotel accomodation and generally 'a floating town' to enhance its upkeep when the Carrick was berthed in the river a lot of floating debris accumulated and was trapped abetween the boat and berth, likewise with the 'Renfrew ferry', though I think at one point this had been addressed with a boom.

[*Jonesy*]

In Rotterdam the Dutch have saved one of their most famous liners "the Rotterdam". The Rotterdam was a quasi-sister ship to the Canberra. It is berthed near the centre of the city, converted into a a tourist attraction as well as hotel and conference centre. While the costs of conversion were initially high the return on investment seem to make it worthwhile.

The Queen Mary is berthed at Long Beach in the States and serves a similar function to that in Holland.

[**klingon**]

Nice idea but I'm afraid virtually impossible-the QE2 would have great difficulty getting up the River Clyde to any sort of permanent berth due to the constraints of her draught,(when she was launched at John Browns the Clyde had to be specially dredged deeper at that point to enable her to float)-and the biggest problem-her massive bulk-berthed on the main channel the river would be virtually blocked to ALL other traffic-a special berth would have to be constructed at massive cost just to "park" her anywhere near the centre of Glasgow.Perhaps her best fate would be to return to her original design brief-a Transatlantic liner/cruise ship-or end her useful days doing Carribean cruises.