Iconic cruise ship Queen Elizabeth 2 may leave Dubai and take to the high seas again in order to operate as a floating hotel in other ports, the luxury liner's cash-strapped owners said.
Giant property developer Nakheel, which had planned to tug QE2 to a special pier on its man-made Palm Island, said it "has been investigating opening QE2 to visitors as a stationary hotel before work on her refurbishment begins."
"In addition to alternative locations in Dubai, other ports in the Middle East and Africa have also expressed an interest in hosting this impressive maritime icon," Nakheel told AFP in an emailed statement.
Dubai was scheduled to be the final stop for the QE2 which received a royal welcome when it arrived in the city state in November. Nakheel then said that the boat would be refitted within three years as a luxury hotel.
South African media reported that Nakheel's parent firm Dubai World is looking into moving QE2 to South Africa to berth it as a floating hotel at Cape Town's V&A Waterfront.
Dubai World bought the QE2 for about £50-million from US cruise operator Cunard in 2007, when the economy of Dubai and the rest of the United Arab Emirates was growing at a breakneck speed.
But Dubai was hit hard as the global financial crisis brought the rapid growth in its property sector to a standstill, forcing the government to help the debt-ridden Nakheel.
The company cut 500 jobs, or 15 percent of its workforce, only a few days after taking control of the QE2 in November. It has reportedly cut 400 more jobs recently.
Launched by her British namesake in September 1967, the QE2 was Cunard's longest-serving ship. The 294-metre craft can carry up to 1 778 passengers and more than 1 000 crew.
She has travelled 5,5 million nautical miles - the equivalent of to the moon and back 13 times - and has undertaken 25 world cruises, crossed the Atlantic more than 800 times and carried more than two million passengers. - AFP