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.
The council took no action at the study session to discuss the future of the 87-year-old vessel but most of the council members spoke in favor of preserving the ship as it is — a floating hotel and tourist attraction — or turning it into a historical monument under the control of a federal agency.
Docked on the city’s shore since 1967, the former ocean liner has long been a challenge to operate. A 2017 study recommended that as much as $289 million worth of renovations and upgrades were needed to keep parts of the ship from flooding. According to documents filed recently in Bankruptcy Court, the Queen Mary needs $23 million in immediate repairs to prevent it from potentially capsizing.
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