City to begin critical repairs on Queen Mary in February

The City of Long Beach is preparing to start critical repairs on the Queen Mary this February. 

Fencing will be placed around the construction zone and staging areas in the coming week. In February, the City will begin the first phase of critical repairs. The City anticipates repairs will be completed later this year, allowing the Queen Mary to reopen to the public. 

“It is our responsibility to preserve the Queen Mary and ensure this historic landmark is properly cared for,” Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement. “Now that the city has full oversight and control of the Queen, it’s important we make the critical repairs needed.”

The City regained control of the Queen Mary for the first time in over 40 years in June 2021 after Queen Mary’s former lessee, Urban Commons LLC, surrendered its lease in bankruptcy court. 

A 2017 marine survey commissioned by a previous operator of the ship estimated that ship repairs in the short, medium and long-term would cost $289 million. 

The City has estimated the cost of urgent critical repairs to be approximately $5 million. 

$2.5 million in initial funding for those repairs was approved as part of the City’s fiscal year 2022 budget. According to the City, an additional funding request will be presented to the city council in the coming months. 

Previous funds for critical repairs misspent by former operator, according to audit

The City has already thrown tens of millions of dollars at the Queen Mary for repairs. 

In November 2016, the City of Long Beach provided $23 million to then-operator Urban Commons for 27 critical repair projects.

“By late 2018, the $23 million had all been spent, but not all 27 projects were completed,” a November 2020 audit by the City Auditor Laura Doud said, noting that seven projects were completed, 11 were partially completed and nine had not started. 

That left 20 projects considered urgent and critical as “risks that need to be dealt with,” the audit said. 

A study conducted in 2021 based on a visual inspection of completed and unfinished repairs by past operators “suggests there is still $23 million in repairs needed,” the audit states.

At a June City Council meeting, city staff highlighted the extent of the Queen Mary’s needed critical repairs: temporary water pumps in the lowest portion of the ship (bilge), an alarm system for water intrusion, temporary interior structural wall (bulkhead) improvements, lifeboat removal to alleviate pressure on the walls of the ship, electrical improvements and a new emergency generator. 

When the Long Beach City Council initially approved the funds in June 2021, Economic Development Director John Kiesler said, “the goal is to complete these emergency repairs by the end of the year.”

Now, those projects will begin. 

Plans for the historic ship’s critical repairs

In a recent statement, the City focused on deteriorating lifeboats, which were highlighted in engineering reports. 

“The lifeboats exert stress on the side shell of the ship which has created severe cracks in the support system,” the statement said. “Removing the deteriorated lifeboats will enhance the structural stability of the ship.”

The City has contracted with Exbon Development Inc. to remove the deteriorated lifeboats. Two will be retained by the City for future preservation on the ship. 

Another thirteen original lifeboats will be disconnected from the ship and temporarily stored while the City gauges interest from museums and nonprofits who may be interested in preserving a lifeboat. 

As a separate contract, the City will install new permanent bilge pumps to discharge water intrusion in the event of an emergency.

“Additional improvements to the bulkhead, emergency generator and to the water intrusion warning system are forthcoming,” a City statement said. “These repairs are needed as a result of decades of deferred maintenance by former operators of the ship and are critical for its preservation.”