City to Conduct Critical Repairs to the Queen Mary Beginning in February 2022

Long Beach, CA - The City of Long Beach is preparing to startcritical repairs to the Queen Mary, with fencing being placed around the construction zone and staging areas prepared asof last week. In February, the City will beginthe first phase of critical repairs, which are anticipatedto be completed later this year,allowing the Queen Mary to reopen to the public.

"It is our responsibility to preserve the Queen Mary and ensure this historic landmark is properly cared for," said Mayor Robert Garcia. "Now that the city has full oversight and control of the Queen, it's important we make the critical repairs needed."

The City regainedcontrol of the Queen Mary for the first time in over 40 years in June 2021. Since that time, with the help of marine engineering experts and based on previous studies, the City has designed the specifications and layouts for the required repairs and has established key milestones for the projectand an anticipated completion date later this year. The City has estimated the cost of the critical repairs to be approximately $5 million. An initial funding of $2.5 millionwas approved by the Long Beach City Council as part of the City's Fiscal Year 2022 budget, utilizing Tidelands Funds, with an additional funding request to be presented to the City Council in the coming months. In December 2021, the City received approval by the State Lands Commissionto use Tidelands funding, as required by State law, which clears the way for work to begin in February 2022.

One of the most critical repairs identified in the engineering reports was the removal of deterioratedlifeboats. The lifeboats exert stress on the side shell of the ship which has created severecracks in the support system. Removing the deteriorated lifeboats will enhance the structural stability ofthe ship. The City has contracted with ExbonDevelopment, Inc.to remove the deteriorated lifeboats, two of which will be retainedby the Cityfor future preservationon the ship. Thirteen original lifeboats will be disconnected from the ship and temporarily stored while the City gauges interests frommuseums and other qualified non-profits who may beinterested in preserving a lifeboat. Interested organizations should contact Johnny Vallejoat Johnny.Vallejo@longbeach.gov. The lifeboat removalis expected to take approximately two weeksto complete, weather permitting.

As a separate contract, the City will install new permanent bilge pumpsto discharge water intrusion in the event ofan emergency. Additional improvements to the bulkhead, emergency generator andto the water intrusion warning system are forthcoming. These repairs areneededas aresult of decades of deferred maintenance by former operators of the ship and are critical forits preservation.Earlier this month, the City made repairs to re-light one of the ship's exhaust funnels, a skyline focal point that is illuminated by several spotlights positioned on the deck. To ensure the safety of the electrical systems and proper functionality of the lights, repair work was done to the surrounding circuits, the electrical timeclock and lightingfixtures.

"Addressing these critical repairs has been a long time coming and an effortthatwill greatly benefit the structural safety and historical preservation of the Queen Mary," said First District Councilwoman Mary Zendejas. "With the City now overseeing control of the ship, I am confident this year will bring tremendous progress towards protecting this historic feature of our community."

The Queen Mary remains closed to the public until the critical repairs are completed but continues to be available for filming, which helps generate revenue to support the ship operations.

InJune 2021 the former lessee, Urban Commons Queensway LLC, surrendered its existing leases and filed a motion to formally reject those leases through its bankruptcy process. The City's Department of Economic Development oversees the financial agreements associated with the Queen Mary, while the Department of Public Works leads the physical repair and preservation efforts.

To keep the public informed, the City created a Queen Mary Updateswebpage, which includes the Queen Mary's economic impacts on the City, a historical overview, the City's stance on preserving the historic integrity and structural safety of the ship and the City's short- and long-term goals in the preservation process.

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