Queen Mary Takeover Plan Moves Ahead : Tourism: Less urgency on repairs, and more Harbor Department money for them, could mean city control in two weeks.

High-tech tests and the promise of an additional $2.5 million for repairs persuaded the City Council to move forward with its plan to take over the Queen Mary and keep the money-losing tourist attraction in Long Beach.

The Harbor Commission, which has jurisdiction over the ship, and City Council are expected to approve final transfer of the vessel within two weeks. The commission helped speed the negotiations by increasing to $9 million the amount it will give the city for repairs, said David L. Hauser, president of the Board of Harbor Commissioners. It had offered $6.5 million.

The high-tech tests were part of a new study, the third in recent months, on the ship’s rusting hull.

International Diving Services, which performed the study, told city officials that the Queen Mary’s hull is in no danger of failing and that immediate repairs could be made where the ship is moored. City officials released the findings Tuesday.

The cost of those repairs is estimated at $6 million to $9 million, which is at least $3 million less than the work recommended by another consultant, officials said.

“There are no indications of any condition that would cause sudden or catastrophic failure of the hull,” said Assistant City Manager John F. Shirey, who relayed the findings to the council.

Shirey said International Diving Services will deliver its written report later in the week.

The company based its findings on ultrasonic tests of the hull, as well as X-rays, underwater videos and still photography.

It found that only a portion of the hull, toward the stern, needs immediate repairs. If those repairs are made, costly dry-docking can be delayed for three years, the study found.

The city hired International Diving Services after another consulting firm, Rados International Corp., recommended last month that the ship be dry-docked immediately at a cost of about $6 million. The firm had already recommended $6 million in immediate repairs, bringing the total to $12 million.

Robert G. Rados Sr., chairman of Rados International, said some of the rivets holding the steel plates of the ship’s hull are badly corroded and leaking.

He recommended immediate dry-docking so ultrasonic and other tests could determine the condition of the hull. He could not be reached for comment on the new findings.

After the Rados report, U.S. Navy inspectors conducted a preliminary review of the Queen Mary’s hull and found that the ship did not need to be dry-docked.

Lower repair costs and the offer of more cash will allow the city to keep the ship, officials said.

The independently governed Harbor Department had wanted to sell the ship to a Hong Kong firm for $20 million.

But the Board of Harbor Commissioners offered to transfer control, and financial responsibility, of the Queen Mary to the City Council if it wanted to keep the ship in town.

Some city officials have blamed the cash-rich Harbor Department for allowing the ship to fall into a state of disrepair and called for it to pay for making the ship safe.

Harbor officials offered the city $6.5 million for repairs. But they have since agreed to increase that payment to $9 million.

The City Council on Tuesday directed the city attorney’s office to draft an agreement to make the transfer.

“I think we’re pretty well there,” said City Manager James C. Hankla, who declined to reveal the specifics of the agreement.

Hauser said, “I believe all parties appear to be in agreement.”

The City Council also authorized Hankla to begin working to secure a new operator for the tourist attraction.

The plan is to keep the Queen Mary operating in Long Beach for two or three more years, until city officials decide whether it will fit in with development plans.

Proponents say the landmark is essential to the city’s tourist industry.

Councilman Warren Harwood, a fervent Queen Mary booster, said he hopes that the Queen Mary will be in town for a long time. “That ship, with proper maintenance, can be there 50 years or more,” he said.

Opponents, including Mayor Ernie Kell, contend that the ship is too costly to run and will be a financial drain. “I think we’re making an emotional decision and not a financial decision,” Kell said.

The Walt Disney Co., which has leased the ship since 1988, is leaving the vessel at the end of December. The firm reportedly has lost as much as $10.8 million a year on the attraction.

Disney closed the ship’s hotel and banquet facilities at the end of September to reduce operating costs. The number of full-time and part-time employees at the tourist attraction has dropped from 1,200 to about 400.

The city is expected to lease the Queen Mary to an investment group headed by Joseph F. Prevratil.

A former executive director of the Harbor Department, Prevratil is a consultant overseeing expansion of the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. He once oversaw the operation of the Queen Mary for the Wrather Corp., which ran the ship until 1988.

Prevratil maintains he can run the ship, including its hotel, at a profit for several years, until city officials decide the fate of the vessel.