Safety of Queen Mary Is Disputed in Reports : Attraction: No action has been taken on a 1990 study saying that the rusted hull of the ship may spring a leak, threatening employees and tourists. Officials disagree on the seriousness of the problem.

Long Beach and Walt Disney Co. officials were advised in 1990 that the Queen Mary ocean liner is so rusted in some areas that its hull could spring a leak, flooding the lower portions of the vessel and possibly trapping employees and tourists, according to city documents.

No action has been taken to correct the problem because of the cost and disagreements over who is responsible for the work, according to officials and city documents.

There also is disagreement over the seriousness of the potential danger.

Long Beach’s chief harbor engineer, E. D. Allen, said Friday that flooding is a possibility but he does not consider the danger imminent. Therefore, the city’s Harbor Department, which has jurisdiction over the Queen Mary, has not arranged to repair or close the ship, he said.

“I don’t see that as something that’s going to cause the ship to have major problems,” Allen said.

Disney has operated the ship under a lease with the city since 1988. Jennifer Blazey, a Disney spokeswoman, said her firm considers the ship safe and will continue operations, including convention services, restaurants, shops and tours. The firm is scheduled to stop operating the money-losing attraction at the end of the year and its fate beyond then has not been determined.

Explanations from city and Disney officials contradict the December, 1990, report by a Port of Long Beach engineer, Edward C. Bermender.

“The corrosion . . . has become so severe that, if the condition is not corrected immediately, there exists the possibility for a major structural failure in the not so far future,” Bermender wrote. “If there were a major structural failure in the engineering spaces where tourists are visiting, their safety may be at risk.”

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Bermender, who declined to comment, wrote in the report: “The situation is critical! The time for discussion has run out.”

Most of the ship’s bulkheads, which divide the hull into watertight compartments, were removed more than 20 years ago when the ship was converted to a tourist attraction. Bermender recommended that some bulkheads be restored to prevent the ship from sinking in the event of a major leak.

The engineer’s assessment is supported by a more recent study of the ship performed by Rados International Corp., a naval architectural and marine engineering firm in San Pedro.

The Harbor Department hired Rados this year to assess the condition of the Queen Mary because it will soon turn the ship over to a new operator or sell the vessel.

Rados concluded that the Queen Mary needs $27 million in maintenance and repairs in the next five years. Of that, about $2 million should be spent immediately to replace key bulkheads, the consultant found.

A leak could develop in the rusted hull, causing the ship to sink 11 feet in the shallow area in the port, said Robert G. Rados, the marine engineer who oversaw the assessment. Seawater would inundate lower decks where employees work, where conventions are held and where tourists are allowed to browse, he said.

But when Rados released his report last month, he said he could not predict when a failure would occur or how serious it would be. He made no recommendation to close the ship pending repairs.

But when asked to comment on the 1990 report, Rados said he did not disagree with Bermender’s assessment.

“If she went down it’d be a disaster,” Rados said. “The question is: ‘Can people get off and get off in a proper time?”’

Rados declined to comment when asked if he would shut down the ship if it was his own.

Damage control is on the minds of harbor officials, even if they are opposed to closing the ship pending repairs.

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On the advice of the city attorney’s office, the Harbor Department hired a risk management firm to determine the city’s liability if the Queen Mary continues to operate in its current condition, said David L. Hauser, president of the Board of Harbor Commissioners.

A report is expected in about a week.

“I’m trying to find out where we stand and what do we do,” Hauser said.

Councilman Warren Harwood, who provided The Times with the 1990 report, said he wants the safety issues investigated further, but he has no plans to call for the ship’s closure.

“I’m for protecting it and keeping it operating,” he said.

The councilman said he also will call for an audit to determine if the Harbor Department allowed Disney and other operators to avoid costly maintenance.

Rados said that a poor maintenance program led to the general deterioration of the ship.

Richard K. Steinke, the Harbor Department’s director of properties, has said that the ship’s operators have done their share.

But there have been disagreements over maintenance and repairs.

After the Bermender report, the Harbor Department tried to persuade Disney to restore some key bulkheads. Disney balked and the port did not do the work because of the expense, said Allen, the chief harbor engineer.

“Disney’s position was they inherited the ship in that condition,” Allen said.

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Blazey said Disney had met its maintenance and repair obligations as required under the lease.

The Queen Mary, which was launched in 1934 as one of the world’s most luxurious ocean liners, has been the center of controversy since Disney announced that it would end its role with the attraction.

Some city officials say the ship should be sold to make way for shops and recreational uses along the harbor, which would provide more jobs and taxes for the city.

Others say the ship is a piece of history that should not leave Long Beach. Its companion attraction, the Spruce Goose, is being dismantled and moved to a new Oregon museum.

The ship was built in Scotland and launched by Cunard Steamship Co. Ltd. in 1934. It was converted to a troop transport during World War II and moved 800,000 Allied soldiers. The ship resumed its life as an ocean liner after the war.

Long Beach purchased the ship for $3.45 million in 1967, and then spent $66 million over the next four years to refurbish it. The city has leased it to various operators over the years.