Thursday, May 15

News item: Cunard’s latest luxury liner, the Queen Victoria, has crashed while docking in the port of Valletta, Malta.
The hit caused a hole to form in the stern of the £300m British ship, which was named by the Duchess of Cornwall.Luckily, none of the 1,887 passengers onboard were injured in the crash.

"The ship touched the quay as she was berthing and sustained some damage which is now being assessed," said Cunard president Carol Marlow.
The Queen Victoria was launched in Southampton last December, but, during the traditional naming ceremony, the champagne bottle used failed to break against the ship, regarded in maritime circles as bad luck. Cunard have stated the damage was being assessed and that repairs were under way and should be completed during the night. "This will necessitate the cancellation of the call at La Goulette in Tunisia which the ship was due to visit tomorrow but its expected call to Gibraltar on the 17th May will go ahead as planned" "Cunard will be compensating guests for the disruption to their voyage," a spokesman said.

Queen Victoria will eventually replace the 40-year-old QE2, which is being decommissioned and turned into a floating hotel in Dubai from 2009.

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