HMS Illustrious team to work on bringing aircraft carrier to Hull

“I have numerous friends who have served on board HMS Illustrious and while it will bring tourism to the city what you have to take in to account is that this ship can not be turned off. It must be kept running so that dangerous gasses are released from the ship. Not only that but it continuously needs to be repainted and scraped of sea creatures that would eventually eat away at it's Hull. These costs amass to much more than tourism could generate and would be then put on to the council tax payers of just Hull. Much like the Humber Bridge, the people of Hull are expected to finance it through the taxes they pay while it doesn't just benefit this city.

There are many scrap metal merchants that will be willing to pay big money for this ship and plenty of brown envelopes being passed under counters to get this huge lump of metal to the far east where it'll be stripped and sold on at a great profit.

As the article shows, costings have yet to be discussed for this project to get any kind of go ahead. I'd be surprised if the leader of our council or MP's have much knowledge of how much a ship of this size costs to keep running 365 days a year. Even if they only opened the ship for the summer months when tourism is at its peak they'd still have to have a couple of engines running just to circulate the air, it would have to be manned by a team of trained experts and what happens when an engine seizes up and needs replacing? I'll bet you don't find them going cheap on eBay!

If some rich billionaire wants to purchase it, pay for it to be parked up on the Humber and keep it financed then great but if it comes down to the tax payer of this city then I'm sorry but let the Navy top brass sell it on to a far eastern country!”

“USS Yorktown is a decommisioned aircrft carrier. It is exhibited at Patriots Point, Charleston, SC. Charleston is a historic city, like Hull but not as old. It is not a Naval Dockyard, it has no aviation heritage, it is not on a gateway ferry route. The ship is part of many attractions in that city.
HMS Illustrious is big enough to be more than just a museum and is a structure waiting to be filled with ideas and opportunities, it's a big ticket attraction. Bring it and they will come. Stop being so negative about everything.”

“pedalrebel

1, Carrier = free, on costs = Conversion to tourist attraction inc tickets
2, Business and financial skills = the councils own officers and district auditors, and the Uni is a profit making multi million pound business, so OK there.
3, Insurance costs will be addressed within the business case.
4, I understand it would be sited near pier, The financing would all have to be done and accepted by the MOD, so if we get it it means the case must stack up.
5, your 5th point is just a pathetic attack by someone lacking creativity or imagination.
and your point that it's only 50mins from London is pathetic, Leeds to Hull is about the same, let me remind you, these pages were full of negative comments before the deep was built yet it is the most successful Millennium project in the country, go figure.”

“I'm all for job creation, but having a rusty old decommissioned aircraft carrier sat on a dockside somewhere in Hull beggars belief. Why do the supporters think people will come to Hull and actually "pay" to see an old ship like this ? How many do they expect on a weekly basis? I can't imagine a queue on the gangplank on a typical cold rainy weekday.

The costs of installing and running it at a profit with staff, heat, light, rates and insurance as well as maintaining the dam thing in today's economic climate makes this a non starter. The link with Hull is tenuous, and how many real jobs will it create? I sincerely hope Hull City Council see the light and don't waste another penny on this silly scheme.”

“jeff_Norris
You have raised some points to my post perhaps i can also raise some
1, Whats this all gonna cost ?
2, The four you mention (ie coun Brady) What Business or finance skills do they have ? Its ok being the ex skipper of the ship but sentiments don't pay the bills
3, How much is the insurance going to cost ?
4, If and when the ship comes and it needs repairs (dry docking) wheres it going to go and who's going to finance it ?
5, If the finance is going to be raised by a share listing will you Mr Norris participate in purchasing so called shares or will you be leaving it to some one else ?

Last summer i had the pleasure of going to one of the finest museums in the country, Chatham naval dockyard where Lord Nelsons Victory was built, we spent all day at the base mingling with the crowds (all ten of us) yes Mr Norris ALL TEN OF US, as Chatham is only less than fifty minutes from London you would maybe think there would be more wouldn't you Mr Norris ?
Its ok having pipe dreams Mr Norris but pipe dreams don't pay the bills.”

“If the ship ever gets here there will be a couple of years of the Council pushing it for all it is worth before further budget cuts are needed. Then there will be the announcement that they can no longer afford its upkeep and we need to sell it.
The Big TV saga all over again.”

“pedalrebel
So you're 100% sure this is an idiotic idea.
Mmmmmm who do I trust
1,The Vice Chancellor of Hull University.
2, Rear Admiral and former captain Bob Cooling.
3, Professor Robert Blackburn.
4, The (Elected) leader of the Council.
5, Or you 'the pedal rebel' who hides behind a false name.
Oh Decisions Decisions.”

“With no other UK city yet to announce any firm interest, he said: "We are in a great position to steal a march on any other potential candidates."

Perhaps other cities ( inc Portsmouth and Plymouth) have a bit more sense than to contemplate this pie in the sky scheme. If they could not make a local Humber ferry work to attract the public i,m 100% certain this idiotic idea will go the same way.
Forget it and concentrate getting commercial traffic to the Port and creating real jobs.”