Princess Marguerite Headed To England To Become Floating Hotel

VICTORIA, B.C. - The Princess Marguerite's final voyage will be at the end of a tow line behind a trans-Atlantic tugboat.

The cruise ship's buyer, Mykris Hotels, plans to tow the Marguerite to England and tie it up at Bristol as a floating hotel.

The final date for sale of the ship is tomorrow ``and as of today, it doesn't look like we've got a (local) buyer,'' provincial Tourism Minister Cliff Michael said yesterday.

He said he did not know when the ship would actually leave Victoria for the last time.

The Marguerite has run between Seattle and Victoria since 1948, first for the Canadian Pacific Coastal Service. B.C. Steamships, a government corporation, bought the vessel in 1975 when it appeared Canadian Pacific would have otherwise scrapped it.

The Marguerite's last owner was B.C. Stena, which bought the assets of B.C. Steamships for $6 million in 1988. Stena ran the ship for just one summer, then tied it up at dockside, saying it would never sail again.

Stena went out of business last month and is selling its assets.

Three bids to purchase the ship were received, Michael said, but none met the government's conditions.