Monday, June 15, 2009
No. 3 General Information - World's Largest Ships
OCEAN LINER - QUEEN MARY 2
The RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2) is a Cunard Line ocean liner named after the earlier Cunard liner Queen Mary, which was in turn named after Mary of Teck, the Queen Consort of George V. At the time of her construction in 2003 by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique, the QM2 was the longest, widest and tallest passenger ship ever built, and at a gross tonnage(GT)of148,528tons, was also the largest. She lost the gross tonnage distinction to Royal Caribbean International's 154,407GT Freedom of the Seas in April 2006, but QM2 remains the largest ocean liner (as opposed to cruise ship) ever built, and her width, length, and waterline breadth are unsurpassed by any other passenger ship. Also, the QM2 displaces approximately 76,000 tons; the Royal Caribbean Freedom ships displace about 64,000 tons.
| Tonnage: | 148,528GT |
| Length: | 345m (1,132ft) |
| Beam: | 41m (135ft) waterline, 45m (147.6ft) extreme (bridge wings) |
| Draft: | 10m (32.8ft) |
| Capacity: | 2,620 passengers |
The Queen Mary 2 is the current Cunard flagship and makes regular transatlantic crossings. The ship was constructed to complement the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2)—the Cunard flagship from 1969 to 2004—replacing it on the transatlantic route. The first RMSQueen Mary sailed the Atlantic from 1936 to 1967. QM2 had the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) title conferred on her, as a gesture to Cunard's history, by Royal Mail when she entered service in 2004 on the Southampton to New York route.
On 12 January 2004, the Queen Mary 2 set sail on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the United States, carrying 2,620 passengers under the command of her first captain Ronald Warwick, who had previously commanded the Queen Elizabeth 2. Warwick is the son of William (Bil) Warwick who had also been a Cunard officer and had also been the QE2's first captain.
During the XXVIII Olympics the QM2 sailed to Athens and docked at Piraeus for two weeks for use as a hotel-ship, serving the then Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair and his wife Cherie, the French President Jacques Chirac, US president George H. W. Bush, and the US Olympic men's basketball team.
In January 2006 the QM2 embarked on a circumnavigation of South America (the ship is too large to pass through the Panama Canal). Upon departure from Fort Lauderdale one of her propeller pods was damaged when it struck a channel wall, forcing the ship to sail at a reduced speed, which resulted in Commodore Warwick's decision to skip several calls on its voyage to Rio de Janeiro. Many of her passengers threatened to stage a sit-in protest because of the missed calls, before Cunard offered to refund the voyage costs. The QM2 continued to operate at a reduced service speed, and several itinerary changes were necessary until repairs had been completed after the ship returned to Europe in June, where the QM2 paid a visit to dry dock, and the damaged propeller pod was unseated. In November the QM2 was dry-docked once more at the Blohm + Voss yard in Hamburg (drydock Elbe 17) for the reinstallation of the repaired propeller pod. At the same time, sprinkler systems were installed in all of the vessel's balconies to comply with new safety regulations which had come into effect since the MV Star Princess fire. Additionally, both bridge wings were extended by 2 metres to improve visibility.
After completing the journey around South America, on 23 February 2006, the QM2 met her namesake, the original RMS Queen Mary, which is permanently docked at Long Beach, California. Escorted by a flotilla of smaller ships, the two Queens exchanged a "whistle salute" which was heard throughout the city of Long Beach.
On 10 January 2007 the QM2 started her first world cruise, circling the globe in 81 days. On 20 February, she met her fleet-mate, the Queen Elizabeth 2, also on her 2007 world cruise, in Sydney harbour. This is the first time two Cunard Queens have been together in Sydney since the original Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth served as troop ships in 1941. Despite the early arrival time of 5:42 am, the QM2's presence attracted so many viewers that the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Anzac Bridge were blocked. With 1,600 passengers leaving the ships in Sydney, Cunard estimated the stopovers injected more than $1 million into the local economy.
Famous passengers and/or guests of the QM2 include Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, former French President Jacques Chirac, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, jazz musician Dave Brubeck, former US president George H. W. Bush, comedian and actor John Cleese, actor Richard Dreyfuss, author and editor Harold Evans, director George Lucas, singer Carly Simon, singer Rod Stewart, CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, and financier Donald Trump.
Following the retirement of QE2, Queen Mary 2 will be the only operational ocean liner left in active passenger service.
