Save the Queen LLC has acquired for $43 million Queen’s Seaport Development Inc., owner of the famed ship Queen Mary, in an auction Tuesday afternoon.

The mixed-use waterfront property and the 66-year lease to oversee the operations of the 71-year-old ship were awarded to the company, which bid against Santa Monica-based O & S; Holdings in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court auction in Los Angeles.

Leasehold rights include the historic ship, which contains a hotel and tourist attractions, and 50 acres of land plus water rights. Parking lots, oil pumpers and a dome that once housed Howard Hughes’ mammoth Spruce Goose airplane currently occupy the site. Future developments could include a luxury hotel, retail, restaurants and other entertainment components. Last year the property was appraised at $48 million.

Queen’s Seaport Development filed for bankruptcy protection in March 2005 when the city of Long Beach claimed that it had taken rental credits it wasn’t entitled to take and owed the city millions in back rent.