Bid to save QE2 from scrapyard

FEARS have been raised that the most famous ship built in Scotland will be broken up for scrap unless a deal can be secured to send it to a new home in Australia.

The Clyde-built QE2, which has languished at a lonely quayside in Dubai since November 2008, was originally bought from Cunard for $100 million (65.3m) and new owner Nakheel prepared lavish designs to convert the liner into a hotel.

But the economic downturn and the financial crash which hit Dubai saw the ambitious plans abandoned, and a rescue operation to send the ship to a new berth in Cape Town collapsed last year.

Now a new plan has emerged that could see the ship - dubbed the most famous liner ever built - sailing to Fremantle in Western Australia to act as the centrepiece of the Sailing World Championships to be held in December 2011.

However, the ship's owners have failed to approve the sale, leading to fears that it will be sold for scrap by the cash-strapped Arab company.

Former QE2 captain Ian McNaught, who sailed the ship on its final voyage up the Clyde in 2008, told Scotland on Sunday about his concerns.

He said: "Those of us who love the ship are concerned that it will end up being sold for scrap.

"The economic downturn means all those plans for the future in Dubai have come to nothing and it is simply languishing in a dock.

"It is still a fully functional ship and could sail anywhere in the world. But the owners seem reluctant to give any indication as to their plans for her.

"One hears rumours, and of course what people are saying is that it will be run aground on a beach in the Indian Ocean and broken up piece by piece, like so many great ships before her.

"That would be an absolute tragedy."

Salvation for the famous Scottish ship could come from the other side of the world. City fathers in Fremantle, Western Australia, are preparing a bid to obtain the QE2 in time for the ISAF Sailing World Championships, which are to be held in December 2011.

Fremantle mayor Brad Pettitt believes there would be strong support from the local community, and has told papers in the city: "If the ship could be in Fremantle at the same time as the sailing championships, then it could be used as a floating hotel."

A spokesman for the current owners, who have been under pressure to sell to relieve Dubai's debt problems, said there were "a number of options being considered for QE2", but added that none of them involved the ship leaving Dubai.

Author Chris Frame, a member of the QE2 Story internet forum, said Fremantle would make an ideal home for the vessel."It is already a waterside tourist destination, has a large working port, and an entertainment infrastructure to appeal to visitors."

However, Capt McNaught claimed that an obvious destination for the ship would be its "birthplace" in Glasgow, arguing that it would be a massive attraction for the city in the run-up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

He said: "It has been in Dubai, then Cape Town was mentioned and other places are now involved. But surely Glasgow is the natural home of the QE2.

"I believe it would be one of the UK's biggest tourist attraction if the QE2 was berthed on the Clyde.

"You only have to look at the Royal Yacht Britannia in Leith to see that there is an appetite for attractions of that sort.

"Personally, I would love to see the ship return to Glasgow, but as long as it can have a secure future, that is the most important thing."

Built in Clydebank, the QE2 was the flagship of the British Cunard line and considered the last of the great transatlantic ocean liners.

It was designed to primarily run a transatlantic service from Southampton to New York and was named after the earlier Cunard liner RMS Queen Elizabeth, serving as the flagship of the line from 1969 until succeeded by RMS Queen Mary 2 in 2004.