Cape Town home for QE2?

The future of arguably the world’s most famous passenger ship, the former Cunarder QE2, remain in doubt for the global economic crisis impacting hard on the business plans of her new owners, Dubai World. Dubai World’s hotels and leisure operation Nakheel is scaling down its ambitious plans to transform the former Transatlantic liner into a seven-star hotel and leisure/tourism complex based at the Palm Jumeirah complex in Dubai and is now looking to use the vessel as a more modest hotel in Cape Town, South Africa!

Having bought QE2 for £50m and announcing plans to cut the vessel in two and lengthen her, things started going wrong when the vessel arrived in Port Rashid, Dubai at the end of her last passenger carrying voyage. However, the global credit crunch has seriously affected Nakheel’s business plans, not just for QE2, but also other ambitious land-based construction plans in Dubai. At the end of 2008 Nakheel laid off a total of 500 workers and a further 400 in recent weeks.

Dubai World has applied for permission from South Africa’s National Ports Authority of Cape Town to berth QE2 in the commercial port. A decision is expected any day now. 

Dubai World, with other investors, bought the Victoria & Albert Waterfront development in Cape Town in 2006 and during the past two years Dubai World Africa and Nakheel Hotels & Resorts have been working to re-design the area. QE2 can’t berth at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront complex because of her draught, so the plan is the berth her next door in the commercial port as a hotel. So much so for QE2 being the jewel of Dubai as previously planned! Sphere: Related Content