Long Beach considers options for Queen Mary, including sinking the ship
The Queen Mary ship is shown docked in Long Beach in May. The city of Long Beach has taken control of the ship and is considering several options, including restoring it and sinking it.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
July 20, 2021 6:56 PM PT
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The aging Queen Mary could cost the city of Long Beach up to $175 million to preserve and maintain over the next 25 years but it could cost even more up to $190 million to recycle for scrap or sink into the ocean.
Those were some of the options considered Tuesday by the Long Beach City Council, which formally took control of the ship last month after the company that held the ship’s lease and the surrounding land filed for bankruptcy protection.
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated the books after receiving a call from Mayor Robert Garcia, said Nate Fernley, president of the church’s Long Beach California East Stake.
“That’s the heart of Christianity. If there are children who need help, we’re hopefully there to help them,” said Fernley.
A forklift driver unloads two pallets for a total of 8,000 Spanish-language books and toys donated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Long Beach. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.
Donations had already been coming in for the more than 700 unaccompanied migrant children being housed at the Convention Center. But Friday’s donation helped to more than double the amount in the past 48 hours. The total is now 28,000 items, said Convention & Visitors Bureau spokesperson Samantha Mehlinger.
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.
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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.
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