An audacious attempt to return Queen Elizabeth 2 to the Clyde began yesterday with backing from the Scottish government to save the vessel from the scrapyard.
In her heyday, the cruise liner was the flagship for the Cunard line, representing the ultimate in ocean-going luxury, but for the past seven years she has languished in a dock in Dubai, collecting rust.
A working party of public sector bodies — including Scottish Enterprise and Inverclyde council — has been formed to investigate whether the ship could be purchased from its Arab owners and brought back to Scotland.
Fergus Ewing, the tourism minister, said: “We have outlined potential support that the Scottish government and its agencies could provide, which is dependent on the council being able to secure the QE2.
“There is great potential but we need to see whether a practical, affordable plan can be devised and wish to discuss the idea further to map out what that would entail.”
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QE2, which carried the first of thousands of well-heeled passengers in 1969, was bought by a conglomerate owned by the UAE government for £64 million in 2008 with the aim of turning her into a 400-room luxury floating hotel.
However, those plans were put on hold by the recession and little has happened since. The ship is now moored at Port Rashid in Dubai, with concern growing among maritime historians and enthusiasts about her worsening condition.
It is thought that the vessel’s interior has been damaged by mould, and her condition has deteriorated further since the engines were shut down in 2013.
It is hoped that she could be brought back to the Clyde, where she was built. The initiative comes after calls from Stephen McCabe, leader of Inverclyde council, for public bodies to step in and support a rescue bid.
QE2, which carried troops during the Falklands conflict in the 1980s before being decommissioned, could become a maritime museum or a training centre for engineering and shipbuilding apprentices, according to suggestions put forward by Mr McCabe.
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However, any attempt to bring the ship back to Scotland hinges on the council’s ability to buy her from her owner, the UAE investment fund Istithmar. After yesterday’s first meeting of the working group, which includes Visit Scotland and government officials, an approach will be made to establish whether the vessel is for sale and to determine her true condition.
Speaking before the meeting, Mr McCabe admitted that the intentions of the UAE authorities were still uncertain, but that the focus of the group would be to develop a business case for securing and running the ship as a tourist attraction.
He said: “With reports that QE2 was languishing in a dock in Dubai after plans to convert her into a luxury hotel fell apart, I wrote to the government and national representatives calling for national support to bring her home.
“I am delighted that the Scottish government has recognised that QE2 is an important part of Scottish and Greenock’s maritime history.
“Bringing QE2 home to the Clyde and Greenock is a herculean task. The more you look at it, the larger that job becomes.
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“That’s why it is hugely significant to have the backing of the Scottish government and national agencies such as Scottish Enterprise around the table supporting our proposal.”
The queens of the seas: where are they now?
Construction of the QE2 began at the John Brown shipyard on Clydebank in 1965, with the Queen officially naming her in 1967. She was fitted out in Greenock and began carrying cruise passengers in 1969.
Sailing from her home port of Southampton, the ship was the last transatlantic steam ship until she was refitted with diesel engines in the 1980s.
QE2, right, served as a troop ship during the Falklands War, carrying 3,000 troops to the South Atlantic.
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She is the third of the ‘queens’ that served as the flagships of the Cunard Line, now owned by the cruise ship operator Carnival. The first, Queen Mary, far left, is now a hotel, restaurant and museum in Long Beach, California — a happier fate than that of the QE2’s predecessor Queen Elizabeth, left, which sank in Hong Kong harbour after catching fire in 1972. Her remains lie encased in reclaimed land.
Queen Mary 2 operates between Southampton and New York and undertakes round-the-world cruises.