breathing a sigh of relief that the British luxury liner Queen Elizabeth 2 suffered relatively minor damage when she ran aground this weekend.

The 937-foot Cunard Line flagship suffered hull damage off Cape Cod on Friday.

On Monday, the QE2 made her way into Boston Harbour where she will undergo repairs to a 74-foot gash.

Mr. Richard (Tony) Jones, manager of Steamship Mutual, said yesterday the company provides protection and indemnity coverage for the QE2, including compensation for passengers and for oil pollution.

"For us, it's a great relief there was no major damage,'' Mr. Jones said from the company's Washington Mall office. "There was certainly potential for damage -- ruptured fuel tanks or major personal injury.

"Had there been any major third party problems like that, we would have been responsible.'' He said the company would likely have to make some sort of pay-out to cover the cost of tenders that took passengers ashore, plus the cost of sending passengers home.

Cunard said the QE2 was covered for any loss of business or damage.

A spokesman for Cunard, a subsidiary of Britain's Trafalgar House Plc, said all lost revenue, except for the first $100,000, would be covered by insurance. He did not elaborate.

Insurance firm Willis Corroon Group Plc negotiated cover for the hull and for loss of business due to damage. A Willis spokesman declined to comment, other than to say he expected details of any claim to become clearer later this week.

All 1,815 passengers were evacuated after the 66,000-ton liner ran aground.

Cunard said some passengers had already been compensated and given refunds.

Insurance sources said the extent and nature of any claim would become clear only after a complete investigation into the accident.

Cunard said Britain's Department of Transport and US investigators were examining the vessel to decide claims and assess responsibility for the grounding. The company hoped the liner would be ready for a transatlantic sailing to Southampton from New York on August 18.

MINOR DAMAGE - A Queen Elizabeth 2 crewman throws a line ashore as the holed liner arrives in Boston on Monday.