QE2 IN DUBAI

Just over five years since he left QE2 to take command of Cunard flagship Queen Mary 2, Commodore Ron Warwick, who retired in 2006 after 36 years of Cunard service, finds himself again in charge of the most famous ship in the world. Seatrade Insider has learnt Commodore Warwick is spending the Christmas holidays as master of QE2, berthed in her new home Dubai, in charge of a 38-man crew. Although she won’t be leaving her Port Rashid berth the ship continues to run on her own power, providing electricity and heating, and the bridge is manned 24 hours. Warwick was invited to take the role of master for a short-term contract when the liner was handed over to new owners QE2 Enterprises, Nakheel Hotels in Dubai on November 27. He will remain in charge until the ship moves to the nearby Drydocks World repair yard for the start of her major refurbishment. The last serving Cunard crew member left the ship on December 16. ‘I am thrilled to bits that the ship has come to Dubai,’ Warwick told Seatrade Insider last week. Speaking about QE2’s retirement from the Cunard fleet and prospect of a new life as an entertainment and leisure destination, he said, ‘I will shed only one tear, for any ship has only a limited life and this project will give her a new life.’ Warwick, whose father William E Warwick was appointed the QE2’s first master designate in the mid-1960s, hopes to return to see the liner in her new guise (reported on Seatrade Insider December 15) and bring his granddaughter to show her where her grandfather and great grandfather spent the bulk of their sea-going careers.(From Setrade News Inside 24-12-2008)