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The classic cruise liner Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, has apparently turned into a money pit abyss. And now the city must decide what to do with the famous ship. One solution? Sink her — and turn the vessel into an artificial reef.
Plus, one hotel is offering free accommodations for a month — to one person tasked with shooting the Northern Lights.
Those are some travel headlines I thought you, too, may find interesting.
A Sinking Feeling: The Queen Mary’s Future
The historic Queen Mary has had many owners during the past few decades. But making money for them has seemingly been a struggle for her.
The City of Long Beach now owns the ship — and is faced with a number of high-priced solutions.
One is to simply make critical repairs. That should keep the operation going for another 25 years ago. But that’s estimated to cost between $150-$175 million over that period of time.
Another solution carries a price tag running from $200-$500 million. That involving drydocking or graving the boat at a new site.
Finally, there’s an option to simply scrap the ship. Or sink and turn her into an underwater reef. Those options would run between $105-$190 million — without the possibility of significant job creation and retention.
Personally, I like the first option but am warming the third. The idea of an artificial reef for marine life and divers sounds pretty interesting.
H/T: KTLA News and Long Beach Post
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They should sell this landmark to the Morongo Indians and turn it into a Casino it would be a plus for Long Beach and a great tax base for the city.
That’s a fun idea! I read here that “Indian casinos do not pay a state tax as such, although the tribes pay the state and local governments a fee based on the casino revenue. Some tribes distribute a portion of the profits, also, in the form of a per capita payment. In those cases, tribal members pay federal taxes on their income. However, the majority of the profits from Indian gaming go to fund tribal governments and to other tribal businesses.”
So I’m not exactly sure (I’ve never taken an accounting course) what the tax benefits would be for LA County, Long Beach, and California. But if the tribe refurbished the ship, it’d be a great place for cruisers to stay before and after departing the port.
If the tribe took the boat even for free then Long Beach would save at least a $$$$100 million
If they want to tow the ship out to sea and sink it to create an artificial reef and are willing to ay $105 mm to $190 mm, I’d like to sign up for that at job. cha ching!