Cunard cancelled the scheduled six-day Iberian Isles cruise (10 – 16 June) and the following two Atlantic crossings (16 June from Southampton and 21 June from New York) in order to obtain 17 days in which to do the necessary work while QE2 remained alongside her berth in Southampton.
Captain Wadsworth and then Captain Ridley were in command.
Cost: The work and cancellations would cost Cunard £2.5 million.
TECHNICAL AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES WORKMechanicalThe low pressure starboard turbine was removed and sent back to its maker, John Brown Engineering, to be repaired and refitted later in the year, while a new one was fitted.
It was not possible to replace all the defective superheater tubes during the repair period. A number of banks would be installed with the balance completed during the November refit.
Other
• £3,000 was spent on work on the main Engine Lub Oil Purifer.
• £10,000 was spent on Number 4 Hold Access.
• Air-conditioning work was undertaken by Young Austen Young. The presence of YAY sub-contract personnel was potentially a source of trouble with the shipyard.
General Manager’s OfficeOn the starboard side of Two Deck, near the gangway entrance, a new suite for use by the General Manager of QE2 was built. Adjacent, a new Conference Room, utilised by the General Manager and company staff, was also built. These two areas reflected corporate changes within the ship to render her a self-managing unit within the company. £60,000 was spent on work.
EXTERIOR PAINTWORKAfter a reasonable trial period it was decided to repaint the pebble grey coloured-hull of QE2 and change it in the original colouring. The grey had proved to be unpractical as well as unpopular being terribly difficult to maintain in a pristine form and no matter how careful the tugs in ports were, QE2 always lost some of her paint or obtained scuff marks from tugs nudging bows.
Evidence of close contact with dockside fenders also always showed. The light colour also always displayed unsightly streaks of rust dribbling down the vessel’s sides from portholes and hawse pipes. Her external appearance as she circled the Pacific during her 1983 World Cruise drew many criticisms and a full stem-to-stern clean-up was undertaken halfway in Hong Kong.
• The superstructure was also to be grit-blasted using machines spraying a powerful jet of water and grit. Newcastle company Seaguard was awarded the contract to undertake the work but progress was slow due to having to remove 14 layers of paint. In the end only the front half of the starboard side was grit-blasted with the remainder of the work being deferred until the scheduled refit at the end of the year.
• The khaki painted superstructure on Boat Deck behind the lifeboats and underneath the Bridge was re-painted white for the first time.
It is interesting to note that the hull was probably scheduled for repainting in the November 1983 overhaul. Board Minutes dated 7 June 1983 stated:
“Certain other work had been scheduled for the November refit would be advanced... and possible grit-blasting and repainting in the original hull colour above the waterline”.
It was also noted that it would be practicable to undertake repainting above the waterline without dry-docking.
PASSENGER ACCOMMODATIONPenthouse SuitesTwo of the Penthouse connecting rooms were refurnished in an Oriental style at a cost of £65,000.
Boat Deck Eight Boat Deck cabins were completely refurbished (cost £28,000) with the involvement of Robertson Ward. The rooms were sufficiently large enough to allow for a settee to be added.
Cabin RefurbishmentIn addition 60 cabins in all categories throughout the vessel were refurbished.
PASSENGER AREASOutdoor DecksThe area of decking forward under the Bridge was redone in teak replacing the Astroturf.
RETURN TO SERVICEQE2 returned to service one day early on 26 June but it soon became clear that the turbine troubles had not been rectified as overheating in one of the two low power turbines was traced to a damaged inner casing.
It was thought that the high speed dash to the Falklands may have caused more damage than at first thought.It was decided that a further period of work would be required so Cunard cancelled two further 1983 transatlantic crossings (22 July from Southampton and 27 July from New York) in order to obtain a further ten-day work period with QE2 alongside her berth from
22 July until 2 August 1983
