Ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 runs aground

Venerable ship, on its last voyage, freed by tugboats and rising tide

Chris Jackson / Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth 2 prepares to dock in Southampton, England, on Tuesday morning after briefly running aground.

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Historic ocean liner runs agound
Nov. 11: Tug boats had to pull the historic Queen Elizabeth 2 after the ship hit a sandbar off the coast of England. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.

msnbc.com

updated 11:00 a.m. ET Nov. 11, 2008

LONDON - The Queen Elizabeth 2 is docked safely in Southampton harbor after briefly running aground just outside the British port.

A Cunard spokesman says the venerable ocean liner was heading into her home port on Tuesday around 5:30 GMT when the ship hit a sand bank. Two tugboats and the rising tide pulled the ship free.

Eric Flounders says no passengers were injured and that the ship was not damaged.

The ship is on its final journey. After nearly 40 years of service and more than two dozen round-the-world voyages, the QE2 is to be reinvented as a floating five-star hotel in Dubai.

Prince Philip is to make a farewell visit to the liner Tuesday ahead of her departure for Dubai.

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