The RMS Queen Elizabeth 2  sailed into her new home in Dubai facing significant restructuring and re-engineering to fit her out for a very different life there as a floating five-star hotel, permanently moored at the Palm Jumeirah. Since she arrived nothing at all has happened to her.

There are now widespread concerns for her future. The company who bought her and brought her there have let it be know that the major job planned is in limbo for the time being but that they are considering simply opening her to the public as she is, as a tourist attraction.

This, of course, means that her engines will not be removed – or not just yet. And if her engines stay in place, the hope remains that she could return to the UK. There are two groups with a special interest in this. One is at her birthplace on the Clyde in Scotland and one is at her home port of Southampton where there is a move to try to buy her back and install her permanently there.

Scott Becker, a former member of QE2′s staff and who has set up a tribute website that aims to become the fullest possible online record of the life of the ship, says: ‘The news of QE2 having an uncertain future in Dubai is a bit disconcerting. Especially when one considers the current global economic crisis, the costs of converting her to a permanent shore-side facility will be enormous.

‘I recently mentioned to someone that it will be interesting to see whether QE2 has the same hand of providence that RMS Queen Mary has had in Long Beach. Through so many dire situations, she has remained. Every attempt to remove her has failed. Sadly, what will put an end to QM is neglect. The corrosion in her superstructure is getting very serious now.

‘QE2 is a far more delicate creature. Extreme care will have to be made for her future existence. Especially where the aluminium superstructure and the steel hull meet. They cannot touch but must remain apart with separators. (Ed: This is because of the process of galvanic corrosion that would otherwise occur.)

‘I would be thrilled if she were to come back to the UK, her true home. Who knows, the very thing that seems so threatening (the economy) could actually save her from a life of obscurity.’