In November 2015, Cruise Arabia & Africa quoted DP World chairman Ahmed Sultan Bin Sulayem as saying that QE2 would not be scrapped[12] and a Dubai-based construction company announced in March 2017 that it had been contracted to refurbish the ship.

[16][18] Work had proceeded as far as the preparation of submissions from six shipyards and applying for government financial assistance with the construction when misgivings among some executives and directors, coupled with a shareholder revolt, led to the benefits of the project being reappraised and ultimately cancelled on 19 October 1961.

The hull was of welded steel plates, which avoided the weight penalty of over ten million rivets and overlappeding of historic ship construction,[21] and was fitted with a modern bulbous bow.

Reducing the draft of the ship lowered fuel consumption, but invited the electrochemical corrosion where the dissimilar metals are joined together, prevented by using a jointing compound.

The low melting point of aluminium caused concern when QE2 was serving as a troopship during the Falklands War, with some fearing that if the ship were struck by a missile her upper decks would collapse quickly due to fire.

In keeping with those technology influenced times, Cunard abandoned the Art Deco interiors of the previous Queens in favor of everyday modern materials like laminates, aluminium and Perspex.

The green velvet and leather Midships Bar became the Art Deco inspired Chart Room, receiving an original, custom-designed piano from Queen Mary.

[30] The designers included numerous pieces of artwork within the public rooms of the ship, as well as maritime artefacts drawn from Cunard's long history of operating merchant vessels.

A large wooden plaque was presented to Queen Elizabeth 2 by First Sea Lord Sir John Fieldhouse to commemorate the ship's service as a Hired Military Transport (HMT) in the Falklands War.

Throughout the public areas were also silver plaques commemorating the visits of every member of the Royal Family, as well as other dignitaries such as South African president Nelson Mandela.

[37][failed verification] During the ship's 1986 to 1987 refit, the steam turbines were removed and replaced with nine German MAN 9L58/64 nine-cylinder, medium-speed diesel engines, each weighing approximately 120 tons.

Following the unexpected addition of the Second by the Queen, the book attributes the use of upper and lower case lettering and a numeric 2 – rather than a Roman II – to the decision by Cunard to use a more modern typeface to suit the style of the 1960s.

Following market research, Cunard decided to take advantage of the delay to change the original three-class configuration of the ship to a more flexible two-class arrangement of First and Tourist.

Several industrial disputes with the Clydebank workers, with their resultant delays and quality issues, forced Cunard to transfer the ship to Southampton, where Vosper Thorneycroft completed the installation and commissioning work, prior to the sea trials.

According to the book "The Angel" by Uri Bar-Joseph, Muammar Gaddafi ordered a submarine to torpedo her during one of the chartered cruises in retaliation for Israel's downing of Libyan Flight 114, but Anwar Sadat intervened secretly to foil the attack.

[citation needed] On 23 July 1976 while the ship was 80 miles off the Scilly Isles on a transatlantic voyage, a flexible coupling drive connecting the starboard main engine high-pressure rotor and the reduction gearbox ruptured.

[76] On 7 August 1992, the underside of the hull was extensively damaged when she ran aground south of Cuttyhunk Island near Martha's Vineyard, while returning from a five-day cruise to Halifax, Nova Scotia along the east coast of the United States and Canada.

[79] The accident resulted in the passengers disembarking earlier than scheduled at nearby Newport, Rhode Island and the ship being taken out of service while temporary repairs were made in drydock at Boston.

On 11 September 1995, QE2 encountered a rogue wave, estimated at 90 ft (27 m), caused by Hurricane Luis in the North Atlantic Ocean about 200 miles (320 km) south of eastern Newfoundland.

The Royal Promenade, which formerly housed upscale shops such as Burberry, H. Stern and Aquascutum, were replaced by boutiques typical of cruise ships, selling perfumes, watches and logo items.

During this refit, the hull was stripped to bare metal, and the ship repainted in the traditional Cunard colours of matte black (Federal Grey) with a white superstructure.

She left Liverpool and arrived in Belfast on 4 October 2008, before moving to Greenock the next day (the ship's height with funnel makes it impossible to pass under the Erskine Bridge so Clydebank is not reachable).

BBC reported "Cunard has confirmed it touched the bottom at the Brambles Turn sandbank (sandback) near Calshot, Southampton Water, with three tugs attached to her stern (0530 GMT).

[111][112][113] The decommissioning of the ship was particularly poignant for Queen Elizabeth 2's only permanent resident, Beatrice Muller, aged 89, who lived on board in retirement for nine years, at a cost of some £3,500 (~€4,300, ~$5,400) per month.

"[7] The refurbishment planned to see Queen Elizabeth 2 transformed into a tourist destination in Dubai;[119] however, due to the global economic crisis, QE2 remained moored at Port Rashid awaiting a decision about her future.

QM2 and QV again visited QE2 in 2010 and on 31 March 2011 the new Queen Elizabeth (QE) called at Dubai during her maiden world cruise – photos were arranged by Cunard to capture the occasion.

Despite this sale speculation, a number of alternative locations for QE2 were cited including London, Singapore, Clydebank,[140] Japan[140] and Fremantle,[140][141] the latter showing interest in using QE2 as a hotel for the ISAF Sailing World Championships to be held in December 2011.

[118] On 17 January 2013, the Dubai Drydocks World announced that Queen Elizabeth 2 would be sent to an unknown location in Asia to serve as a floating luxury hotel, shopping mall, and museum.

"[161] In January 2016 Aubrey Fawcett, the chair of the working group to regenerate the Clyde, admitted defeat in this effort as QE2's owners refused to respond to any requests regarding her condition or sale.

[165] To mark the occasion, Cunard Line, the ship's former owners, arranged a commemorative voyage aboard MS Queen Elizabeth – a 17-night cruise, with special activities and theme days.