Ambassadors executive: Historic Delta Queen steamboat won't be gutted

[mercedes]

Don't worry, Delta Queen fans: The historic steamboat isn't heading to the chopping block.

That's the word today from an executive at Ambassadors International -- the company that owns the legendary vessel.

Ambassadors vice president Joseph McCarthy tells USA TODAY reports the Delta Queen will be leased to a resort company that plans to gut it aren't true.

"We are considering lease options with groups that would maintain her in her current condition," says McCarthy. What's more, he adds, "we are continuing to look for a buyer for (the Delta Queen) that would continue to operate it as an overnight passenger vessel."

The Save the Delta Queen Campaign, a grass-roots organization that has been lobbying Congress to help keep the famed riverboat operating, sent out a "red alert" late Tuesday saying it had learned from reliable sources that Ambassadors planned to lease the vessel to the River City Resort in Chattanooga. The Campaign said the resort's owners wanted to tie up the vessel permanently and use it as a hotel.

"Of necessity, the process (of converting the vessel into a docked hotel) would entail gutting the interior of the National Historic Landmark to enlarge the staterooms, as well as kitchen and sanitation facilities, and (to) install elevators and other amenities," the Campaign warned. The alert was picked up by media outlets such as WCPO-TV in Ohio.

Vicki Webster, leader of the Save the Delta Queen Campaign, called the idea of gutting the Delta Queen to turn it into a hotel "pure evil."

McCarthy says Ambassadors has not spoken to the River City Resort about the ship. "We are not planning to lease it to that entity," he says.

A spokesperson for River City Resort did not return a call from USA TODAY seeking comment.

Just last week, the Delta Queen was nominated for inclusion on the National Trust for Preservation’s 2009 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. The famed riverboat was forced to stop sailing in November after its 40-year Congressional exemption from a fire safety rule expired. The Save the Delta Queen Campaign has been lobbying Congress to extend the exemption, allowing the Delta Queen to resume operations.

Built in 1926, the 174-passenger Delta Queen was the last traditional steamboat carrying overnight passengers on America's inland waterways, and it hearkened back to a bygone era with stately wooden cabins and hardwood-paneled public rooms.