Hole torn in £330m Cunard liner

Repairs are due to be carried out during the night

A hole has been ripped into the stern of a £300m luxury British cruise liner as it crashed while docking in Malta.

Cunard's Queen Victoria, which was named by the Duchess of Cornwall in Southampton in December, hit the quay at Valletta.

None of the 1,887 passengers onboard was injured in the crash.

"The ship touched the quay as she was berthing and sustained some damage which is now being assessed," said Cunard president Carol Marlow.

The 90,000-ton ship, which Cunard says is its most luxurious, boasts seven restaurants, three swimming pools, a 6,000-book library and a casino.

The previous three Cunard "queens" were named or launched by reigning queens.

Queen Victoria was recently joined by the QE2 and QM2 in Southampton

But the champagne bottle used in Queen Victoria's naming ceremony failed to break against the ship, regarded in maritime circles as bad luck.

Cunard said the damage was being assessed and that repairs were under way and should be completed during the night.

"This will necessitate the cancellation of the call at La Goulette in Tunisia which the ship was due to visit tomorrow but its expected call to Gibraltar on the 17 May will go ahead as planned.

"Cunard will be compensating guests for the disruption to their voyage," a spokesman said.

Queen Victoria will eventually replace the 40-year-old QE2, which is being decommissioned and turned into a floating hotel in Dubai from 2009.