After finishing the most recent round of repairs to the Queen Mary earlier this summer, Long Beach is entering the final stages of critical repairs to the historic ship.
The goal of these repairs is to ensure that sections of the Queen Mary are safe enough to open up for visitors by the end of 2022.
In June, Long Beach City Council authorized the City Manager to enter a Hospitality Management Agreement with Evolution Hospitality, LLC. to reopen and operate the Queen Mary’s hotel, entertainment attractions and food and beverage facilities for the next five years.
Following this agreement, the City has allocated $3.6 million to support reopening improvements towards priority projects and pre-opening staff costs, funded in part by Tidelands Funds and revenue from filming and special events.
“We are excited to see the repairs getting completed to ensure a successful preview at the end of this year,” said Department of Public Works Director Eric Lopez in a statement from the City. “Thanks to our City team, construction contractors and the support from our consultant historian, we’ve reached another milestone to restore the ship and get us one step closer to inviting people back to visit this special area of Long Beach.”
During this final phase of critical repairs, the City plans to install an emergency generator, interior and external lighting and emergency safety equipment. Additionally, the City is aiming to finish the installation of two boilers and heat exchangers by early 2023, allowing for hot water to be used for cooking, cleaning and sanitation.
Following the completion of critical repairs, aesthetic repairs such as painting, flooring and railing will be addressed. The Department of Public Works will continue to make minor repairs such as upgrading the ship’s interior lighting.
Roughly 75% of the critical repairs related to electrical, plumbing and metal fabrication work are expected to be finished by the end of the year, with the remaining 25% is estimated to be completed by early 2023.
During the summer, the City completed safety and reinforcement upgrades to the Queen Mary’s bulkheads to improve the ship’s internal stability and to increase the bulkheads’ effectiveness.
Additionally, workers began installing an automated bilge pump system which discharges excess water during a water intrusion. The installation of the new bilge pumps on the ship’s eleven bilge pump platforms is expected to occur in early 2023. Prior to these repairs, they also removed 20 deteriorated lifeboats from the ship.
The Queen Mary has been closed to the public during the recent repairs but remains available for filming and special events to raise revenue for ship operations.
“In just 10 months since the city’s acquisition of the lease, the Queen Mary has begun to receive the necessary care and commitment it deserves,” said Mayor Robert Garcia in a statement from the City. “I look forward to getting people back on board to enjoy this historical treasure once again.”
Updates regarding the Queen Mary’s repair progress and future announcements related to the ship can be found on the Queen Mary Updates webpage.
