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:


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:



GG.

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.

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!

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

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?

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I am old enough to remember the Queen Mary, and the Queen Elizabeth and I think we should keep the QE 11 in this country as these ships were great. Did you see the programme about the great liners all now rusting somewhere. When you think of the men who worked on the Clyde I think it would be a fitting tribute to them if the QE11 was brought back and used as a floating museum to Glasgow and and the skills of past generations.

How on earth could we afford to keep this ship in Glasgow? Firstly the clyde would have to be dredged all the way up towards a proposed berth. Now that the dredging has all but ceased. The costs would be massive. Then the running costs. No nice idea through rose tinted glasses in an ideal world but in the present economic climate where we cant get a tram system running in Edinburgh. An over budget Transport Museum. etc A bit of a non starter. It could be berthed off Greenock. However look at the old clipper Carrick lying mouldering away at Irvine. An example of our record on preservation.

I am old enough to remember the Mary the first queen Elizabeth and of course the QE 11. I do think she should be brought back to the Clyde somewhere,if the Clyde is no longer wide enough or deep enough she must have had a berth at one time. Do something before this beautiful ship is scrapped or misused by other countries. Why not use her as a floating museum to remember the Glasgow and the men of Glasgow who had great skills and made Glasgow what she is. A great .city
pippin

Bring her home to her cradle Glasgow was her birth place and she should be here to show her Scottish heritage I remember my dad in the 50's pointing out the japanese photographers taking pictures of our shipbuilding yards. Spies, look what they did to Clyde Built.

Sad to here some say she could not get up the clyde, we sailed her down the river we can bring her back again, maybe they are the same people that say we cannot run our own country, sad.

My initial feelings would to either bring the old Lady back to he Clyde as 'floating accomodation' for the Games perhaps, or re-commission her as she's still got plenty of active years left yet! Twas a sin to see the Arabs get their hands on her in the first place.

Nice thinking of this but I think "klingon* has said it in a nutshell re the costs that would be incurred although with enough capital, "Jonesy"'s thoughts hold something to heed also.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (King James Version)
5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Watched the launch of this great lady from the Bishopton side of the river sad to hear she might be sold for scrap I voted yes out of a sense of nostalgia but is it really a feasible or viable idea to bring her back to the Clyde. I know the Royal Yacht Brittania is a big tourist attraction at Leith so maybe.

Who would pay for moving the ship ? How much would it cost Glaswegians to visit the ship? The QE1 at Long Beach, California, USA is losing her popularity and is expensive to upkeep.

I voted to bring QE2 back to the Clyde, it would have to be very close to Glasgow.
Its been said on previous posts about the new bridges, silting etc, with state of word economy I cant see it happening, perhaps the best thing would for it to be purched by a shipping company, must be cheaper than building a new liner.
Bye for now, norrie

I would agree with the Right Rev. Rob. Rattray .... but only up to a point; well, two points actually.

I don't think she's quite as huge as people think. She's far, far smaller than most of today's giant cruise ships. I believe her draught could be temporarily reduced for the journey up-river, and if her mast & funnel need to be removed to allow her under the Erskine Bridge - that is relatively small scale stuff in the grand scheme of things. Her draught is already far less than her predecessors from Clydebank, due to her being smaller & far lighter.

When I was last at the Titan in Clydebank, an absolutely gigantic tanker came up river - heading for the big berth at Braehead. I believe this could be a very suitable spot for QE2.

I strongly believe that someone with the vision (e.g. Richard Branson) to spend the necessary money to convert QE2 into a hotel, would see a handsome return on their investment in years to come - and QE2 would create hundreds and hundreds of jobs for many miles around. She could transform the West of Scotland.

- Rob Lightbody, TheQE2Story.com

I think it would be great if the QE2 could be brought back to Glasgow or somewhere else in Scotland.

My husband a Plumber & Gas Fitter worked on the QE2.

All the Shipyard workers were given two tickets for the day the QE2 was to be launched.

I was to go on the second ticket but gave it to my son instead. I thought it would be exciting for our son and his dad would be thrilled to show him the ship he helped to build.

We gave him a note to give to his Teacher for a day off school as he was still in Primary School and he said his Teacher thought it was great and he could tell his class all about it the next day.

Branson? Yer haverin man. Though a consortium (kin jist here Billy sayin 'my arsium'! lol) of Mr Connelly, Mr Connery and other loyal Scots - noo THAT might be worth trying tae organise! Good Luck Rob!

I think your 100% right on this - Glaswegians could benefit HUGELY with a bit of forsight on this one - Especially as it will soon be 'national monument' material!! (Lizzie aint gonna last forever ya know!) The QEII has mair kudos than all the ither past cruise ships, wi' the possible exception of Titanic - and were not about tae see HER brought back frae the deed!

I couldn't agree more, Melody. The half-minute section where the shot rises upwards showing the hull and then pans around the deck is amazing.

I get annoyed when some of the city's politicians say that an industry (typically retail or tourism) can 'replace' shipbuilding by delivering an equivalent number of jobs. The pride associated with being part of building a ship like the QE2 means that no industry on earth can replace shipbuilding, although maybe locomotive building could give it a run for its money ... and, of course, Glasgow was once a world-leader in that prestigious industry also. Makes you wonder what went so horribly wrong.

GG.

There's just not the same dignity to be found somehow in the service industries and new technology Martin. Not much to be quite so proud of these days. I'm glad that I was alive to see those fabulous wonders of engineering, magnificent trains and fabulous ships which left our very proud City of Glasgow to go all over the world. Indeed, what went wrong? It's simply very sad.

Thanks Rob, very interesting. I think it would be an amazing project that would fire the imagination. I think Wee Davy hit on a great idea: that of having Billy Connolly front a campaign to raise funds to see the QE2 home where she belongs. Billy's huge media profile, not to mention his work experience in the shipyards, could make potential investors sit up and listen ... maybe even Richard Branson.

One question, Rob: how much do you think it would cost to buy the liner from Nakheel/Dubai World, and do you think they would sell? (Sorry, that was two questions!)

GG.

I agree the QE2 should come back home but we better move fast before Edinburgh gets ideas and nips in and uses the money given to them to finance their museums, I still cant beleive Glasgow is not treated as fairly as Edinburgh when it comes to funding.

From what I can deduce, it could be 2 packs of Camel cigarettes and a bottle of Antiquary! lol

Hi Heather,

There's a few short 'QE2 Memories' videos on the STV website, including workers talking about the launch:

http://video.stv.tv/bc/scotland-history-20...memories-part-1

GG.

ahh dreams and thats all it is,in the current climate rich arabs couldnt make it viable so how are Glaswegians going to do it,and no the govetrnment should not support it,our taxes are needed else where for more important things.

You could probably get it for a song now but my guess is that it'll be grounded on an Indian Ocean beach.
Time marches on.

i was there as a wee kid on my ol grandads shoulder the day the QE2 was launched got the day off school and it was magical this ship is a tribute 2 all the working men whose hard labour made her what she is and yes ABSOLUTELY she should b returned 2 the clyde .

Thank you GG, that was interesting.

In a way I would loved to have been there but as I said, I thought it more exciting for a wee boy.
Some of his pals did not believe he was there for the Launching, they took a bit of convincing.

Yes, I feel she should be brought back to the Clyde, and it could be achieved, even if it meant hiring a dredger from another country to take on the job of deepening the river.

As far as I'm aware there have been over 20.000 ships built on the Clyde since the early 1700's.
Out of that total, how many have we on display showing what "Clyde Built" actually meant!!!

The QE2 returning to its place of birth will never come into being I fear, so I think GGDB should just start off an appeal for a grant from the Lottery Fund. There's been funds handed out for much lesser appeals.

When the QE2 was being built there was that much pinched from her that the big joke was:" I've got a (Boat)bought hoose". If it came back to Glasgow there would be more boat houses on the Clydeside!

I too think she should come back to the Clyde!, as a museum with hotel facilities, perhaps conferences too, ther`s a number of things she could be used for. As for the money, the Lottery does seem a good idea too. Or where are all the scottish millionaires, I`m sure there are a few out there, get onto them. Or how about Donald Trump, if hes so excited about Scotland rope him in too. Hes churning out money with his golf course, so he could re-invest, and earn more money.

Lets start up a campaign. I`m sure all the ex-pats would chuck in too.

Awra best QE2 - THE PRIDE OF THE CLYDE.

Katherine from Germany.

It's about 12,40 am here and I"m thinking that Anne1's insomnia is contagious, anyway I recall reading a story about a retired lady ,obviously a wealthy widow who decided to sail on the Q.E from New york to Southampton on every trip since her husbands death, simply because she enjoyed the service and all that the ship's entertainment could offer and it was a sight better than living in a retirement home.

I am wondering now what she is doing since this wonderful ship has been grounded, it obviously brought a lot of happiness to some people.

Some great posts on this subject...Hate to read of the fate of this fine Liner...I've been in shipbuilding all my life,but be carefull what you ask for......Although the 'Queen Mary' sits majesticaly in all her pride here in Long Beach,Ca.and is very well kept.....she has been a losing concern for the 'City Of Long Beach' even with all its wealth...the upkeep is tremendous!....would be great if the Clyde could house the "QE2"....highly doubtfull without subsidies 'though..If she is broken up I certainly wouldn't watch that process....couldn't!!...I have been on the old Queen Mary many times...in fact my wife and I were married aboard her here in Long Beach.

Wellfield is correct in describing the Oueen Mary as a money losing proposition for Long Beach thus far. Yet you seldom see any publicity about Long Beach on TV etc. without the Queen in the background. She has become the Long Beach symbol The money-losing aspect is due ,in my opinion, to the fact that the Queen's Village which was supposed to be developed around her did not materialize as originally planned. However a new development and developer is currently under consideration.

If in Glasgow the new interest and development along the Clyde is for real, and an easily accessible location is available then I think the commercial attraction of the QE2 as a hotel, a location for convention meetings and shows, dances etc. in her ballrooms, bars etc. as well as daily tours of her many interesting areas etc and her strong historical connection to the area should attract some serious thought.

I would love to see the QE2 incorporated into the new Transport Museum in Glasgow whenever it opens.

Yes bring it back to Clydebank, as a tourist attraction, that's where it belongs.

I don't know if I'll be allowed to promote my site but here goes anyway.

This is a piece I did to try to promote the ship, when people criticise her.

http://www.theqe2story.com/aboutQE2/

And this is a piece I did to explain her situation today

http://www.theqe2story.com/aboutQE2/QE2Today.html

The scrapping story is just rumours - there is no foundation behind it. The most likely outcomes at the moment for her are that she'll be sent to somewhere like Singapore or believe it or not South Korea where she is very popular and they have the money to support her. A highly likely alternative is that she'll simply remain where she is. Waiting.

Any money-making schemes need to be looked at in a wider context - e.g. the boost to the entire area that she will be docked at, in terms of jobs, suppliers, visitors to the area etc.

I for one, welcome your input - as a common courtesy however, you may like to contact our site admin with regards the 'site promo' aspect. As you will have already seen, you have provoked quite a lot of positive reaction to the idea of getting the 'big bucket' back on the Clyde.

All Dreams are entirely Possible - some are just a wee bit harder to make come true than others (Miracles take a wee bit longer, of course)

Regards, wee davy

I tried to post the link on Cruise-Talk showing the discussion on the QE2 which was going on there (out of interest to our members here) but when I opened the link in my post I found I couldn't access the QE2 discussion topic page; so I edited my post here. I even thought it might be worth while to pose a question on Richard Branson's blog .... but couldn't get logged on no matter how I tried.
Bad hair day.
Rob Lightbody? I was immediately reminded of Terry Pratchett's Rob Anybody (of Wee Free fame ) Hope you stick around.

BTW, I enjoyed reading your QE2 Story. Great work.