Luxury ocean liner the QE2 may not after all be making its home in Dubai, it appears.
The vessel had been due to open as a floating hotel at the emirate’s man-made Palm Jumeirah Island but its owner, Dubai-based property and investment company Nakheel, is said to be looking at alternatives elsewhere in the Middle East or in Africa, with Cape Town rumoured to be one place on the shortlist.
Other ports are believed to have expressed interest in hosting the vessel and the company is looking at all its options before commencing the ship’s refurbishment. The original plan involved transforming the boat into a hotel after its arrival in Dubai last November.
Nakheel, however, has been battling with the global financial crisis and a fall in Dubai’s property market.
The QE2 completed 25 circumnavigations of the globe, 800 Atlantic crossing and carried 2.5 million passengers before heading for Dubai.
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