to which the management company fulfilled its obligations to maintain the ship. A limited marine survey in 2017 had recommended between $235 million and $285 million in structural work to the vessel to address known conditions; a brief visual inspection conducted as part of the bankruptcy proceedings identified another $23 million in additional repairs. Long Beach purchased the liner in 1967 for $3.7 million, moving her to Pier H and converting her for hotel use in 1971. In 1980 the first contract was signed awarding oversight of the Queen Mary and surrounding property to a private entity; there have been seven total over the intervening 40 years. Under the contract, the leaseholder can generate revenue on the ship and property (hotel, cultural tourism, special events, entertainment, food and beverage sales), but is obligated to fund all necessary repairs and maintenance. As a first step in determining how to proceed, the city engaged the firm of Moffat and Nichol to present its options. The report laid out what boils down to three options: make immediate repairs to the ship, make ongoing repairs and preserve her for at least 25 years (price tag: $150 million–$175 million over 25 years); overhaul the ship completely and make regular repairs to preserve her for 100 years or more (price tag: $1 billion over 100 years); or recycle the ship (price tag: upwards of $200 million). Cost of the scenarios for preserving the ship would of course be offset somewhat by revenue from the hotel, events, and 46
industry. When the 1312-foot container ship MV Ever Given lodged itself in the Suez Canal and caused immediate and major disruptions in global shipping last March, oceanic trade was suddenly thrust into the world’s news. Mercogliano, a history professor at Campbell University and a former merchant mariner, was sought out by news outlets such as BBC, CNN, NBC, Fox, the Washington Post, and the New York Times to provide expert commentary on the situation. From that experience, he realized that there was a demand for more information on that and many other stories impacting maritime commerce. What’s Going on With Shipping? focuses on explaining current events in ocean trade. Through his YouTube channel, Mercogliano has followed the saga of Ever Given from her salvage to her arrest by the Egyptian government, to her off-load of cargo in the ports of Rotterdam and Felixstowe in August 2021. He also looks at the crisis caused by COVID-19 across the maritime spectrum, issues of maritime disasters, such as the fire and sinking of MV Pearl Express off Sri Lanka, the grounding of MV Golden Ray
off Georgia, and the massive delays in offloading containers in Los Angeles and Long Beach. Producing between 2–5 videos a week, the channel has more than 8,000 subscribers. The videos range from 10–30 minutes and are linked to news sources and resources to facilitate further research on a given topic. The goal of the channel is to increase people’s knowledge about shipping, its history, and its impact on everyone. (www.youtube.com, then search for “Sal Mercogliano”) … Cutty Sark has a new, reimagined figurehead—“Nannie.” The ship’s name and figurehead were inspired by the Robert Burns poem “Tam O’Shanter” about a farmer bearing that name and his encounter with a lovely witch named Nannie, spied dancing with other witches, wearing a scanty nightgown—a “cutty sark.” In the poem, Nannie and her cohort discover Tam and they pursue him to the edge of the River Doon, where he barely escapes with his life. The ship’s original figurehead, inspired by the lovely witch, was carved by the legendary craftsman Frederick Hellyer, but was damaged in a storm in the late 1800s. The figurehead that was installed in the 1954–57 overhaul had been conserved somewhat, but thanks to rot and water damage it was deemed prudent to plan a replacement. The new Nannie, based
courtesy royal museums greenwich
photo by david jones, cc by 2.0
Queen Mary
film licenses. The board made it clear that this review was just the first step in determining the fate of the Queen Mary; a more in-depth study is in the works. The keel of this Cunard liner was laid in 1930, but the Depression halted any progress until 1934. She was launched in September of that year in Clydebank, Scotland, in the yard of Messrs. John Brown & Co., Ltd. Her maiden voyage took place in May 1936; she served as a passenger liner until 1939, when she was used as a troop ship, finally returning to passenger service in 1947, sailing 20 years until her retirement in Long Beach. (www.queenmary.com). … What’s Going On With Shipping? is a new YouTube channel hosted by NMHS trustee Sal Mercogliano, who hosts videos covering current events in the maritime
youtube.com
The city of Long Beach, California, is weighing its options regarding the historic liner Queen Mary. Eagle Hospitality Trust, the company that held the contract to operate the ship, filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year, and in July control of the ship and surrounding land reverted to Long Beach. One of the issues the city is investigating is the extent
The Cutty Sark’s figurehead from the 1950s (at left), next to the new Nannie. (continued on page 48) SEA HISTORY 176, AUTUMN 2021