The city of Long Beach regained control of the Queen Mary Friday for the first time in four decades, with the previous operator surrendering leases for.
A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge declared Wednesday he was considering referral of an alleged $2.4 million federal Paycheck Protection Program fraud to the U.S. attorney's office, during a blistering ruling on a preliminary injunction motion aimed at the original sponsors of Eagle Hospitality.
A former Queen Mary operator neglected the ship and failed to perform more than $20 million in critical repair work, resulting in “significant issues and damage” to the historic vessel before the operator filed for bankruptcy, the city of Long Beach alleges in a recent court filing.
- ADVERTISEMENT -
The city filed legal action last week as part of ongoing bankruptcy hearings for current Queen Mary operator Eagle Hospitality Trust, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January. The ship’s lease is set to go to auction in May.
Former operator Urban Commons, which signed a 66-year lease to run the city-owned ship in 2016, created Eagle Hospitality Trust to list on the Singapore Stock Exchange in 2019. Eagle Hospitality took over as the ship’s operator last year after Urban Commons suffered a string of financial problems. However, Urban Commons’ limited liability corporation, Urban Commons Queensway, remains liable to the city under the lease agreement.