Officials Balk at Queen Mary Costs : Tourism: Three of five Long Beach harbor commissioners say they would rather sell the ship than pay $6.2 million to dry-dock it and repair the rusty hull.

The majority of Long Beach’s harbor commissioners said Wednesday they will not agree to pay $6.2 million to immediately dry-dock the Queen Mary and repair its rusty hull, as recommended by experts earlier this week.

The harbor commissioners had agreed to pay $6.5 million for repairs that were already planned. But three of the five commissioners said in interviews that they would rather sell the ship to a Hong Kong firm for $20 million than put more money into the Long Beach landmark.

“I could not approve any additional monies to be put into the ship,” board President David L. Hauser said. Two of the four other commissioners agreed.

That position jeopardizes a city proposal to keep the Queen Mary in Long Beach by taking jurisdiction of the ship from the independently governed Harbor Department. The Harbor Department has had jurisdiction over the money-losing tourist attraction since 1978.

“It’s an obstacle. There’s no question about that,” said Deputy City Manager Henry Taboada. “The city has no money for any repairs.”

City and harbor officials said last week they considered the transfer a settled deal that would receive final approval from the harbor commissioners next Monday.

But the new report on the condition of the ship’s hull has changed that.

Rados International Corp., a consultant hired by the city, recommended in July that about $6 million in immediate repairs be made to make the Queen Mary safe. Another $21 million in work would be needed in the next three to five years.

But after another inspection Friday, the firm recommended that the ship be dry-docked immediately at a cost of $6.2 million to repair badly rusted rivets in the hull. That would bring the bill for immediate repairs to $12.2 million.

The ship probably would have to be in dry dock for about 45 days, said Robert G. Rados Sr., chairman of the board of Rados International.

City officials plan to seek an opinion from another consultant to determine if the repairs can be made without removing the Queen Mary from the water. That would save money and enable the tourist attraction to stay in operation.

The Harbor Department on Tuesday offered $6.5 million for repairs, Hauser said. It also agreed to transfer to the city 55 acres that are home to the Queen Mary and the Spruce Goose dome, and 30 acres of additional land. The additional land, site of two restaurants, a hotel and a boat terminal, generates about $800,000 a year in lease revenue.

The harbor commissioners said the city could use that money, if necessary, to secure financing to pay for the dry-docking.

“The reason we wanted to sell the ship was too get the harbor out from under the tremendous expense of maintaining the ship,” said Harbor Commissioner Roy E. Hearrean.

“It’s their decision now if they want to take on the liability,” Commissioner Joel Friedland added.

Taboada, the assistant city manager, said the city would consider the $800,000 in lease revenue a contingency reserve for the Queen Mary and would not want to commit that money for immediate repairs.

City officials are still hopeful that the Harbor Commission will come up with more cash.

“I don’t think at this point everything is locked in concrete,” said Councilman Thomas J. Clark. “You’ve got two bodies that are in the city family trying to negotiate something that will be desirable for all parties.”

Councilman Warren Harwood said the Harbor Department should pay for all the repairs. But the councilman said he would be willing to take over the ship, with its hundreds of jobs, even if the city has to come up with a way to foot part of the bill.

“I’m strongly in favor of taking control of the ship,” Harwood said.

City and harbor officials began debating the future of the Queen Mary earlier this year when the Walt Disney Co. announced it would not renew its lease to operate the vessel. The entertainment company has lost money on the Queen Mary since it began operating the tourist attraction in 1988.

Disney will run the Queen Mary’s tours, restaurants and shops until the end of the year. But Disney closed the ship’s hotel and banquet facilities Sept. 30 and laid off about 400 of its 1,200 full-time and part-time employees.

To protect itself from financial loss once Disney leaves, the Harbor Department solicited bids to buy or operate the ship. The $20-million bid from the unidentified Hong Kong firm was the highest offer.

Harbor Department officials said they received only one serious bid to operate the ship. That came from Joseph E. Prevratil, who once oversaw the operation of the ship for the Wrather Corp, which operated the ship until 1988.

If the city takes over the ship, it is expected to lease the attraction to an investment group headed by Prevratil.