Councillor Stephen McCabe hopes that the QE2 will once again by moored on the Clyde
A new working group has been established to examine if the world famous QE2 cruise ship could be brought back to the Clyde and Greenock.
After Inverclyde Council Leader, Councillor Stephen McCabe, wrote to the Scottish Government to highlight the plight of the ship, Scottish Government Minister, Fergus Ewing, MSP, has responded encouraging national agencies to join an Inverclyde working group.
Inverclyde Council leader Stephen McCabe, said: “With reports that QE2 was languishing in a dock in Dubai after plans to convert her into a luxury hotel fell apart, I wrote to the Government, and national representatives calling for national support to bring her home.
“I am delighted that the Scottish Government has recognised that QE2 is an important part of Scottish and Greenock’s maritime history. While her future is uncertain and we still have no clear indication from Dubai about their plans, this support is a chance for all of the various Government agencies to work together to find out if there is a strong business case to bringing QE2 to Greenock and the Clyde.
“I said in my earlier statements that bringing QE2 home to The Clyde and Greenock is a Herculean task. The more you look at it, the larger that job becomes. That’s why it is hugely significant to have the backing of the Scottish Government and national agencies such as Scottish Enterprise around the table supporting our ambitious proposal.”
Scottish Government tourism minister Fergus Ewing said: “We have outlined potential support that the Scottish Government and its agencies could provide, which is dependent on the Council being able to secure the QE2. There is great potential but we need to see whether a practical, affordable plan can be devised and wish to discuss the idea further to map out what that would entail.”
The first meeting of the new working group takes place this week (Wednesday 26 August 2015). It will be chaired by Riverside Inverclyde and include representatives from Inverclyde Council; The Scottish Government; Visit Scotland and Scottish Enterprise.