INGLORIOUS DEATH OF THE QE2
Abandoned and rusting in a foreign harbour, the luxury liner which was once the pride of Britain
SHE once ruled the waves, luxurious and breathtakingly fast, a gleaming model of pure British class from the tip of her proud bow to the afternoon tea served in bone china by white gloved stewards. Cunard’s flagship, Queen Elizabeth II – or just QE2 – was a model of elegance and style, loved by celebrities and a generation of tourists.
For four decades, from her first trial cruise to the Canary Islands in 1969 to her 2008 farewell voyage around the British Isles, she was the undisputed queen of the seas.
Her retirement to the warmth of Dubai was meant to herald a new era as a luxury floating hotel. Instead, images have surfaced which show the pride of the Clyde as a mere shadow of the glorious transatlantic liner she once was, lying in a dry dock, damp, mouldy and stinking in the desert heat.
In one a crew member is crouched on an upper deck where the rich and the well-heeled once promenaded, beside him a makeshift oil drum barbecue. Hanging above and dripping with fat, roasts a suckling pig.
It’s a heartbreaking sight and a million miles from the glamorous life as a floating hotel in the oil rich United Arab Emirates. Seven years ago the QE2 was bought by state-run Dubai World, one of the world’s largest corporations with an investment portfolio which spans entertainment, hotels, industry, property and docks around the globe.
Its chairman is HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum – son of former ruler of Dubai Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum and uncle of its current ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Its assets in 2010 were said to exceed £77billion – however, the global recession had left it with debts of around £15billion, forcing it to rethink a raft of projects including plans to redevelop QE2.
Indeed, Dubai World’s plans to turn her into a major attraction at the heart of the luxurious Palm Jumeira complex seem to have run aground. Worse still, two years ago the last of her engines was silenced, killing the life support system that had kept vital air conditioners breathing.
Mould climbs up walls which once gently vibrated to the lively dance band tunes of the Upper Deck theatre, and a putrid stink wafts through the luxurious Queen’s Grill where the rich and famous used to dine in lavish style. What future might there be for her now?
According to one British ex-pat who attempted to see her this week, only to be barred by security guards, the grand lady of the seas now resembles ‘an embarrassing old grandma’.
He said: ‘ There’s a long road that leads to the entrance of Dubai’s dry docks, after which you’re confronted by heavy security barriers and rather intimidating looking guards.
‘The question “Hello, I’m from the United Kingdom, may I visit the QE2 please?” produces a sharp intake of breath from the guard that’s not just audible, but visible.’
The ex-pat, who asked not to be named, was told no one is allowed to see her.
Certainly, photographs which might capture her sorry state for the world to see, are banned.
Another Dubai-based Brit says she is being kept under a ‘care and maintenance programme’ but he added: ‘That’s probably little more than someone with a broom sweeping under it.’
DESPITE appearances, QE2 enthusiast Rob Lightbody, 42, from Glasgow, creator of a website dedicated to the liner and whose father, David, was her turbines specialist, insists that hope is not entirely lost.
He said: ‘She will be smelly, mouldy and dusty inside, pretty horrible. But I’m hopeful.
‘She is mostly intact. When she went to Dubai in 2008, the idea was to convert her straight away. But the recession had hit.
‘Many weren’t happy with what they had planned to do with her anyway. She is a historic ship and there was a feeling she was going to be changed into something she shouldn’t be.’
It’s a long way from 1964 when news that John Brown’s shipyard had won the £21million order – £503million in today’s money – for the 12 deck, 963ft liner prompted church bells to peal and Clydebank to party.
The result was a futuristic liner with the sleek lines of a large yacht, which could hit 30 knots, crossing the Atlantic in four days.
Once fitted out in Greenock, she sailed six million miles, packed with 1,700 passengers, 1,200 crew and all the luxuries they could ever wish for.
A trip to New York on the QE2 and a supersonic flight home on Concorde was the stuff of dreams.
Her branch of Harrods, Fortnum and Mason toiletries in the bathrooms, afternoon tea in bone china cups, lavish floral displays and ice sculptures made her a ‘ must do’ experience for rock stars and royalty, political giants such as Nelson Mandela and President Jimmy Carter, and Hollywood legends.
Her speed meant that when the Falklands War erupted, she was called into service to rush 3,000 troops and 650 crew to the South Atlantic.
Her distinctive black and white livery was turned battleship grey, helicopter pads were built on her decks and once plush lounges became dormitories.
Of course, she was kept well away from the heat of battle – everyone knew she would have been a major prize for Argentinian bombers.
As she reached her fourth decade, however, the luxury was fading.
‘ People would describe her as “shabby chic”,’ added Mr Lightbody. ‘By that time she was a bit mechanically worn out. She’d been refitted around a dozen times. But she also made a huge amount of money.’
It’s entirely possible she could have carried on for a few more years – but with new superliners on the way, fresh shipping rules requiring more refits and a massive £64million offer from Dubai, o wners Cunard announced her retirement.
Cunard president Carol Marlow said at the time: ‘We were very keen to have offers from ports that would
preserve her. These people will do that, they have a great respect for the ship, they have a great respect for the history.’
It’s not known how Cunard’s executives feel today about the sight of the jewel in the fleet’s crown wasting away.
While the global recession is largely blamed for her predicament, others suggest masses of asbestos in her innards has been the biggest headache.
One ex-pat said: ‘It’s a working environmental nightmare. Every single hot water pipe, every single steam pipe will be covered in asbestos.’
Parked up with nowhere to go, it was costing her owners around £200,000 every month just to keep the air conditioning system alive – a small fortune even by Dubai’s super rich standards.
A plan to sail her to South Africa in 2009 for the World Cup was ditched at the last minute, the first hint of trouble ahead.
A New Year’s Eve party on her decks in 2012 seemed to suggest her future was safe, only for the ship to fall quiet once again.
EVENTUALLY s he was discreetly moved from her showcase spot to the dry dock. Now, added t he ex- pat, the only way to catch a glimpse of her is to climb one of Dubai’s many high- rise blocks.
Those who enjoyed her at her peak have mixed feelings over what should become of her now.
Certainly it’s too much for selfconfessed ‘ shipaholics’ like Karen lafferty, 54, f rom Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, who sailed from New York to Southampton on QE2 15 years ago and, despite hurricane force winds that left passengers reeling from seasickness, fell in love with the liner.
She said: ‘It’s tragic. She’s an old lady of the sea who you don’t want to see suffer. It would be better to just let her go, turn her into razor blades so we can remember her as she was, not like this.’
Former ship’s photographer Alan Snelson, 60, from Cornwall, recalls mingling with famous passengers such as lord lichfield and Sir Anthony Hopkins during four world cruises.
He said: ‘ She was like a living thing. Every ship has a personality, you feel the way they move, you get used to the noises they make. It’s why people feel so passionate about her.’
Some, concerned at her fate, have quietly formed a group to plot a future for the liner. Wary at first of upsetting Dubai World, the group, QE2 london, has now revealed hopes to bring the liner home.
Project director and f ormer Cunard chief engineer John Chillingworth said QE2 is probably valued at around £3million.
He said: ‘The conversion budget to have her as a 530 room hotel and entertainment centre is around £100million, including towing the ship back to Europe and having her in a layby berth for two years while plans are approved.
‘The conversion can be done in stages – the initial stage costing £60million for 330 rooms would allow the ship to start earning revenue.
‘She is badly cracked on her open decks so she would have to be made watertight.
‘In addition all her fuel tanks will need cleaning and filling with water for stability reasons before she could be towed out of Dubai. Dubai should give the ship to us for £1 because her liabilities equal her scrap value.
‘If she was scrapped, the cost of removing the hazardous materials and the £4million tow would equal her scrap value. Dubai should donate the ship back to the nation.’
Meanwhile, keen to capitalise on the area’s growing reputation as a cruise ship stopover, Inverclyde Council has urged politicians to look into the possibility of berthing the Clyde-built gem there.
Council leader Stephen McCabe said: ‘QE2 is an important piece of maritime history for the Clyde and Greenock.
‘To see this once magnificent flagship of the Cunard line languishing in a dock in Dubai is simply heartbreaking.’
QE2 enthusiast Mr lightbody agreed: ‘If QE2 was on the Clyde she’d be a big fish in a small pond in terms of tourist attractions near the river, and would be a focal point. With the right level of investment, she’d boost the local economy and provide jobs and tourism.
‘Right now the focus is on trying to keep her going and not have her just languishing where she is.’
Dubai World is said to be considering its options. However there was no response from the organisation to requests for information.
Mr Snelson added: ‘There’s a wall of silence. Ideas get bandied about but the owners seem to just ignore any attempts at contact.
‘They seem to have lost their enthusiasm but at the same time just won’t let her go.
‘It’s tragic.’