The RMS Queen Elizabeth II cruise ship is to be transformed into a floating hotel by its owners in Dubai, it has been announced.

The ship, which was built for Cunard and operated between 1969 and 2008, is now due to be adapted into a floating 300-room hotel with its original furnishings.

The ship will remain in the city state’s downtown Port Rashid facility to serve as a tourist magnet alongside a proposed maritime museum and an expanding cruise ship terminal complex.

The chairman of the Dubai state company that owns the ship, Istithmar World, said he expects the 300-room hotel to open within 18 months.