The ex-Cunard luxury liner Queen Mary, which had served as a tourist attraction and hotel in Long Beach, CA since 1972, was shut down by the pandemic. Then in January, the manager of the ship on behalf of the City of Long Beach filed for bankruptcy. Now, the Long Beach Post reports that a recent Queen Mary inspection survey reveals that urgent repairs have been neglected over the last five years, leaving the historic ship vulnerable to flooding or possibly even capsizing if critical work isn’t addressed.

The report from a city-hired naval architecture and marine engineering firm Elliott Bay Design Group, which inspected the ship on April 28, says the city would need an additional $23 million in urgent safety repairs to keep the ship “viable” over the next two years.

That’s on top of the $23 million in bonds and Tidelands funds that the city issued to former operator Urban Commons in 2017 to fix some of the most critical repairs listed in a marine survey. The funds ran out before many of the repairs were completed, and now, the latest report says most of the urgent structural work hasn’t even started as the ship slips into further disrepair. 

Long Beach owns the Queen Mary but for decades has leased the ship to a string of operators who have met similar financial problems.

The survey report identifies serious issues including:

• • The hull has structural and watertight integrity issues and there is no working bilge system. This was listed as a critical issue to prevent flooding in the next two years. The “current status of bulkheads and lack of a functioning bilge pump system and flood alarm system could lead to flooding throughout the ship, potential capsizing of the ship and life safety and environmental issues to the extent that flooding occurred,” according to documents.
  • The sewage holding tanks are compromised and not accessible under state health and safety guidelines. The piping system has leaks.
  • The emergency generator is not working and needs to be replaced. The boilers are not working and need to be replaced in order to provide heat and hot water throughout the hotel and for food services. 

The city in a statement said the Queen Mary does not have a reopening date at this time and that the ship will not be reopened by the current or future operator until the critical safety issues identified in the Elliott Bay Design Group report have been completed.

“The city will continue to work through the bankruptcy court to ensure the current or future Lessee is required to complete these repairs,” the statement said.

Also in a statement released last Friday, the city announced that for the first time in over 40 years, the City of Long Beach will regain full control of the Queen Mary, effective today, June 4, 2021. The City is committed to preserving the historic Queen Mary, ensuring the ship is properly restored and cared for.

The press release also went on to say that to protect the safety and stability of the Queen Mary, on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, Long Beach City Council will consider the immediate authorization of $500,000 in Tidelands Critical Infrastructure funds to begin testing and design work for the most critical repairs recommended in recent inspections, including bulkhead repairs, lifeboat removal, and the installation of an emergency generator, temporary bilge pumps, and water intrusion warning systems. City staff are actively identifying additional funding options, to be presented to Council at a later date, to cover these immediate repairs, which are currently estimated to cost a minimum of $5 million.

The statement also noted that the City is prepared to immediately enter into a $2 million contract with Evolution Hospitality, a third-party hospitality management company with experience managing boutique hotels.