A Scotland-built cruise liner is to be converted into a luxury hotel and stationed in Dubai, the Glasgow Evening Times has reported.

Plans for the Queen Elizabeth 2, built by Upper Clyde Shipbuilders in Clydebank and launched by the Queen in 1967, have been given the green light after years of deliberations.

Dubai-based group Istithmar bought the former Cunard Line ship in 2007 for £64m and has now settled on a use for the famous ship.


The Dubai government-owned group has confirmed plans to convert the ship into a floating 300-room hotel, to open within 18 months at the city's Port Rashid.

Its chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said visitors wanted to see the QE2 as it originally looked, and the refit would leave original furnishings onboard.

A previous plan for a floating leisure complex proved fruitless, and plans for a luxury hotel were stalled by the worldwide financial crisis.

The QE2 was used as the venue for a Hogmanay party last year but has otherwise remained unused since it arrived in Dubai.

Sultan bin Sulayem did not say who would be paying for the conversion, saying only that it was not Istithmar or the city-state’s port operator, DP World.

He dismissed concerns about the cost.

(NE/GK)