Richard Glueck brought up this news item about the poor condition of the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach in the thread about the USS New Jersey. Here's link to related articles which include a link to the 300 page report detailing her dire condition.

https://la.curbed.com/2017/3/13/1491762 ... flood-sink

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03 ... 0-million/

These reports have been going on since the early 1990's. At that time I think the figures were 37 million dollars of work needed with 5 million of it urgent. Photos were published that showed the amazing amount of corrosion throughout the ship. The ship was closed down at the end of 1992 and put up for sale. It looked like it was about to be sold to some Japanese businessmen who would make repairs and tow it to Japan. But out of the blue a new operator took over a couple of months later and the ship reopened with no mention of any repairs made. At least if it sinks it won't sink far as it's in about 10 feet of water.

One problem is that it needs to be dry docked for the hull repairs but there's no longer a dry dock of that size in the area.

I very highly doubt that any type of use, other than that of a fully operational liner, will ever generate enough funds to "properly" care for her. Even as such, I'd be surprised if she'd be able to keep up with the industry. The list of "preserved" ocean liners is very short. I wont venture into the subject of SS United States as it has been discussed here many times already.

Ocean Liners in Preservation:
SS Great Britain
Hikawa Maru
SS Rotterdam
SS United States
RMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Elizabeth II

Ugh. "Preserved saltwater vessel" is practically an oxymoron.

Given the shallow water she's "docked" in, they may be able to come up with some sort of creative options. Some kind of support system built directly on the bottom to prevent any possibility of sinking, and then work on a section at a time with temporary coffer dams or something? With a support system, even if the coffer dam fails, you'd get some low level flooding but the ship wouldn't sink.

Lots of options I'm sure, all it takes is time and money.

If you think about this problem like a marine salvage expert, i.e., as if the ship had already sunk at the pier and you were tasked with re-floating her, it's exactly these kinds of "creative options" that would be considered. And they might not cost so much, either, as marine salvage highly rewards cost-effectiveness.

Where is the nearest dry dock that could handle her, should that be necessary once "re-floated"?

Just take the SS United States over there and swap them out.

Two problems solved at once.

</SARCASM>

On needs to take into account, "Queen Mary" was surrounded by a stone breakwater after she was placed. Removal of the ship would require removal of some heavy stone before any thought of relocation.

What was thought to be a great tourist money-maker/historic preservation/movie set/hotel, has turned into financial nightmare, not to mention a degradation of the trans-Atlantic liner itself.

Sister "Queen Elizabeth" was positioned in Port Everglades, Florida, to be developed similarly, when it was determined "ain't gonna happen". Her engines were repaired enough to limp her to Hong Kong, where fire swept her, with predictable results.

Ship preservation, especially if the ship remains inert, is a near impossibility.

On the West Coast, currently certified graving docks would be in either Puget Sound Naval Shipyard or Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. That was the biggest objection to closing down the Long Beach Naval Shipyard (Where the QM was dry-docked last) in that the carriers in San Diego would have a several thousand mile trip to get to a dock in an emergency.

Greg

In addition, there's also a hole cut in the stern right at water level above the remaining propeller with a box over it to show visitors it.

hind site as always is golden...but it's a shame that back in the '60s when The Queen was first moored in Long Beach, that didn't completely seal her off from the salt water and have her in fresh water. I've seen WWll aircraft that crashed in the Great Lakes, recovered in the '90s looking only dirty and in remarkable condition.

Just as with the USS Texas, I have heard of plans to maybe drain the basin the ship is in and either fill it with dirt or just sitting on blocks like in drydock.
I don't see how that's such an impossible idea, if you filled in a berm around either, slowly pumped the water out and filled in around it with earth, wouldn't that help solve the longterm issues?
The USS Hazard in Omaha is an excellent example of a ship that'll well outlast anything of her type in the water now: http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/nebraska/most-people-have-no-idea-this-unique-park-in-nebraska-exists/

That's really it, you have to get the ship out of the water. I could see a marine museum where due to terrain it is able to set up locks to raise ships up to an above-sea-level basin which has several drydocks. The locks and doors could be simple things made by pushing dirt/clay around with bulldozers. Float it into the drydock space, let it down onto the blocks.

Bonus points, put an arched roof over it, with the building built so the water-end walls can be removed. Big job but not that much bigger than some of our 900' car houses, and marine has money.