TNAG-0421-FCO40-467-Registration-of-merchant-shipping-in-Hong-Kong-1973 — Page 27

Ак

ARTE

HK

THE GUARDIAN

27 DEC 1973

19

cutting dated

НК

QE1 for scrap?

Hong Kong, December 26

The owners of the Queen Elizabeth are to start opera- tions which may turn the liner into scrap nearly two years after a fire sank her here.

The Island Navigation Cor- poration, based in Hong Kong, said the salvage operation on the half-submerged liner was complicated and would take two to three years. -

Since January 9, 1972, the vessel has rested on her sile in the harbour nere after being wrecked by fire when workmen were completing her refit. She was to have become loating university.

A statement by the corpora- tion said that after months of intensive study and discussions with salvage experts through. out the world, no sure way had been found to refloat the 3,060-ton liner.

Kowever, the first stage of the salvage operation would begin in the next few days by cutting down the superstruc- ture above the waterline.

A year ago there was specula- tion that it would cost at least £7.2 millions to refloat the ship.

ALONED IN REGISTRY No. 51 28 DEC 1973

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