Last month we posted that a recent Queen Mary inspection survey revealed that lack of maintenance and neglected repairs have left the converted Cunard passenger liner vulnerable to flooding or possibly even capsizing. 

In early June, the City of Long Beach, CA  regained full control of the Queen Mary for the first time in over 40 years, Now, the Long Beach City Council is considering what to do with the ship. All the options under consideration are very expensive.

The LA Times reports that the council was presented with three options to consider:

• preserving the ship for the next 25 years at a cost of $150 million to $175 million;
• preserving the ship for the next 100 years, which would require moving it to a dry dock for repairs at a total cost of $200 million to $500 million;
• or retiring and dismantling or sinking the ship at a cost of $105 million to $190 million.

Most of the costs to retire or sink the ship would come from dismantling and transporting it to a scrap facility or a location in the ocean where it would become an artificial reef, according to a city report.

The costs were calculated by Moffatt & Nichol, the marine engineering firm hired by the city to evaluate the repairs needed for the ship. A detailed study of more immediate repairs is expected in the next few weeks. Teams are inspecting the hull, the metal thickness, and the fire suppression system on the ship, according to a city report.

The Press-Telegram noted council support for saving the ship, though council members and city officials all acknowledged that the best way to achieve that end is still unclear.

Not only would Long Beach have to pay the costs [of scrapping or sinking the ship], City Manager Tom Modica said, but the city would also lose out on all the potential revenue the Queen Mary could generate in the years to come.

“I think most cities would die for an opportunity to have a ship like the Queen Mary,” said Councilmember Cindy Allen, whose Second District includes the ship, “that brings 1.6 million annual visitors — that’s an incredible number — and $94 million in economic impact.”

The company that held the lease to operate the ship for the last 11 years, Eagle Hospitality Trust, filed for bankruptcy protection in January and agreed to surrender its lease agreement. Long Beach, which owns the ship and the property around it, said Eagle Hospitality has been in default of several provisions of the lease, including failure to maintain the aging ship. City Auditor Laura Doud told the council that a subsidiary of Eagle Hospitality has not cooperated with a request for documents to audit the spending on ship repairs.