The launch went smoothly, perhaps better than expected as the 73-ton vessel slid stern-first down its slipway at John Brown & Co. Shipbuilding into the water, sending giant waves up and down the River Clyde.
Patrick O’Donnell, who represents Long Beach in the state Assembly and is retiring at the end of his current term, is the highest profile official to criticize the city’s proposed transfer of control over the ship to the Port of Long Beach.
The assessment of the ship will cost about $3 million and is expected to take at least a year.
The Queen Mary has been closed to the public since 2020, but the city plans to reopen the ship this fall after a round of critical repairs.
Councilwoman Cindy Allen took an extensive guided tour of the Queen Mary and then spent the night on the ship along with her husband despite it being closed to the general public.
The Queen Mary has been closed since 2020 as the city makes critical repairs on the aging vessel.
An excavator with a large metal claw tore into the lifeboats this morning as part of the disposal process after no qualified bidders wanted the historic boats.
It’s unclear how the city will dispose of the Queen Mary lifeboats, which span 36-feet-long and weigh 12,000 pounds.
The Port of Long Beach estimates that Pier H and the Queen Mary could bring in at least $38 million in operating revenue over the next five years, but that wouldn’t come close to offsetting the $392 million in costs.
A roughly 20-foot display model of the Queen Mary was left to deteriorate in Long Beach while on loan from the South Street Seaport Museum in Manhattan.
