The Queen of the seas Queen Mary 2

Impressive! Beautiful! Magnifique! Those were some of the enthusiastic comments which were accorded to Queen Mary 2 when she made her first outing to sea to undergo trials back in September of last year. Some 20 months had elapsed after the start of steel cutting when the largest and, arguably, the most luxurious passenger ship of all time left the French shipyard of Chantiers de l?Atlantique for sea trials. Her arrival on the world maritime stage has been eagerly awaited ever since Cunard placed the order with the French shipbuilder in Saint-Nazaire back in 2000. This same yard built the France, Normandie, Ile de France and some of the other great liners of the past.

With a sharply raked flared bow designed to cope with the North Atlantic seas, she possesses many of the traditional characteristics of the classic transatlantic liner but also incorporates the contemporary requirements of today?s cruiseships, notably a tall superstructure to accommodate the large number of cabins. She is the first ship of her type to be constructed since Queen Elizabeth 2 back in 1969, and is also the first ship to be built in France for Cunard.

Her sea trials, by all accounts, were an unqualified success and she passed them with flying colours. The largest, longest, tallest, widest and, at $780 million, the most expensive passenger liner ever built underwent four days of rigorous testing of her power, manoeuvrability and vibration levels off the Brittany coast. The successful trials put QM2 right on schedule for her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on 12 January. According to Captain Ronald Warwick, master of the new liner: “The sea trials for Queen Mary 2 have been a tremendous success. It was great to finally take her out to the open ocean, where she belongs.”

Another observer on board during sea trials, the ship’s naval architect Stephen Payne, was also jubilant: “For a first builder’s sea trial, the performance of Queen Mary 2, being a prototype ship, exceeded expectations in all respects. She is a worthy successor to the long tradition of Cunard Line.”

Pedigree

Cunard’s newbuilding is over a hundred feet longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall ? more than four city blocks in length. If she were afloat in the pool at the foot of Niagara Falls, her stack would rise over twenty feet above the rim.

The contract for the construction of the 148,528 gt Queen

Mary 2 was awarded in November 2000 to the French yard by Cunard?s parent company Carnival Corporation. This newbuilding involved 300,000 pieces of steel cut and welded into 94 blocks, some of which weighed more than 600 tonnes each and amounts to a total estimated weight of more than 34,000 tonnes divided into 42 zones.

Steel cutting commenced on 16 January 2002 and the keel laying, in the shape of lowering a prefabricated section of the keel into the building dock, took place on 4 July, 2002. Cunard chose this date as its official ceremony because it was exactly 162 years to the day that its first ship, Britannia, sailed from Liverpool on her maiden voyage to Halifax and Boston.

According to Patrick Boissier, chairman and ceo of the shipbuilder, the building of QM2 demonstrates the dramatic improvements that have taken place in shipbuilding productivity. All steelwork for the hull and superstructure was completed in March 2003, a construction period of just over eight months, which compares very favourably with the time needed to build and launch the transatlantic liner France in the 1950s. This 66,000 gt vessel took some 32 months between the laying of the first panel in 1957 and being launched in May 1960 while a further 20 months elapsed for the fitting out before finally entering service in February 1962. Additionally, more productivity improvements have been made in outfitting because just nine months after, in December 2003, the new ?queen? was delivered to Cunard.

For the last six decades, there has always been a Cunard ?Queen? on the seas and, in the spirit of her predecessors, QM2 is resplendent with grandeur and elegance while at the same time featuring contemporary style and amenities and the latest technological innovations. She features classic Cunard hallmarks such as sweeping staircases, expansive promenades, stylish restaurants and public rooms of an imposing scale. QM2 embodies all the thoroughbred characteristics of her forebears: the generous thrust of her raked prow, the stepped superstructure both fore and aft, the lean dimensions that allow for greyhound speed while traversing the North Atlantic. Seen from the outside, she looks like what she is ? a purpose built craft for sailing rapidly between points on the globe.

The sheer size of the vessel has enabled the line to create one of the most spacious passenger ships in the world for the 2,620 passengers (lower berths). Because she is such a unique one-off design, the QM2 project employed teams of naval architects, engineers and maritime experts, including the marine interior design firms of SMC-Tillberg and Designteam, both based in London. Unlike other cruise ships, the design has been structure led with interior architects working around the structural arrangements rather than the other way round. This was largely dictated by the fact that the vessel has a

40-year fatigue life with the capability of operating in the sometimes harsh

environment of the North Atlantic.

This no-compromise attitude manifests itself in many areas of the ship?s structure. For instance, pillars have been made continuous throughout the ship as far as practicable, while structural bulkheads have been pierced as little as possible to provide maximum strength. In addition, she has thicker hull plating, lower block co-efficient hull, tiered upper works and a large Normandie type breakwater and flush fo?c?sle deck.

The liner’s traditional exterior lines are complemented by stylish interiors that carry the grace and elegance of a bygone era into the future. Facilities include 1,310 fully equipped staterooms and suites, nearly three quarters of which have a private balcony, and a variety of passenger spaces, from a majestic, three-storey dining room to intimate bars and lounges to the first sea-going planetarium. Passenger comfort is enhanced by the fitting of two pairs of Rolls Royce Brown Brothers stabilisers giving a 70% roll reduction in difficult stern quartering seas.

Propulsion and steering

On the technical side, QM2?s power plant includes two GE gas turbines and four diesel engines. More than two-thirds of this energy is used to power a state-of-

the-art Mermaid podded

propulsion system which

was jointly developed by Rolls- Royce Kamewa and Alstom. The propulsion system comprises of two fixed and two azimuthing pod units each with a power output of 21.5MW and is the first four-pod installation to date. It provides a maximum speed of nearly 30 knots with low noise and vibration levels and optimum manoeuvrability. The forward pods are non-azimuthing and located outboard of the aft azimuthing units and each weighs 250 tonnes. The propellers are of a bolted built-up design, each consisting of four stainless steel highly skewed fixed pitch blades with a left and right handed pair being provided for the forward and aft propellers.

These powerful pods were specially designed to meet the higher speed requirement of QM2 following an extensive research program carried out by Rolls-Royce Kamewa especially regarding pressure pulses and hydrodynamic efficiency. A special asymmetric pod was developed to take into account the skewed thrust from the propellers, thus minimising, as far as possible, any interference effects. Initial tests at MARIN were disappointing from the pressure pulse point of view as the measured levels were over three times the specified limit. Further investigations revealed that the influences of forward/aft pod interaction, propeller characteristics and direction of rotation and propeller/hull tip clearance showed that the latter parameter was the most significant. Accordingly, the pods were re-orientated to provide the maximum clearances possible while pressure pulses were identified as being well within the specified limits.

Each steerable pod is fitted with four electric motors in a gear and pinion arrangement providing enhanced redundancy and control. Both Rolls-Royce Kamewa and Carnival are confident that the modifications in the design of the Mermaid pods, to a great extent, overcome any of the design problems encountered and provide QM2 with an efficient and effective propulsion system. To enhance manoeuvrability, especially when berthing, QM2 is fitted with three FP bow thrusters supplied by Rolls-Royce Kamewa. These 3.2MW units are of the reinforced tunnel design with visco-eleastic cement to dampen noise and vibration and also incorporate butterfly-type doors to eliminate the anticipated drag factor which tests estimate to be nearly 3%.

The power plant consists of a mixed gas turbine and diesel engine configuration. This is based on two GE LM2500+ gas turbines mounted in a machinery house beneath the funnel and four 16V46C Wärtsilä medium-speed diesel engines in a single engine room. The plant size has been calculated to provide power for the anticipated 16MW hotel-load together with a maximum speed condition with all prime movers in operation. The diesel engines have a maximum capacity of 67,200kW and the gas turbines 50MW giving a total power output of nearly 118MW which is about twice the power of a 100,000 gt conventional cruise ship.

The turbines burn marine gas fuel oil and will, generally, only be run when the ship needs to achieve higher speeds while the diesels run on heavy fuel oil and enable the ship to attain a cruising speed of between 24 and 26 knots. Electrical alternators for the power station were supplied by ABB Finland while Valmarine supplied the integrated automation control system.

Classy accommodation

Cunard’s QM2 features sweeping staircases, expansive promenades and luxurious accommodation for the more than two and a half thousand passengers. Facilities include 10 dining venues, the only Canyon Ranch SpaClub at sea, the world’s first planetarium at sea, the largest ballroom at sea, the largest library at sea, and the largest wine collection at sea.

The ship also features a Veuve Clicquot Champagne bar, several other elegant bars and showrooms, a two-story theatre, a casino, five indoor and outdoor swimming pools, hot tubs,

boutiques, a pet kennel, and a

children’s facility, complete with British nannies.

Guests will travel in accommodation that varies from the merely commodious to the shamelessly extravagant. The standard cabins will measure 194 square feet, and most include an eight-foot balcony. In all 75% of the ship’s cabins have balconies, and 77% are sea view cabins.

All the way aft, there are five duplex apartments overlooking the sea from two-story glass walls. At over 1600 square feet, these include two levels, private

gym and balcony and butler service.

The future is bright

Destined to become the defining luxury ocean liner of the 21st century, QM2 will offer 15 transatlantic crossings in her inaugural year as she takes over the role currently operated by her sister ship, Queen Elizabeth 2, as Cunard’s transatlantic liner.

A special highlight of the QM2’s inaugural schedule will be its maiden eastbound crossing from New York on 25 April as both Queens will sail in tandem. This day will be the first time two Cunard Queens have been berthed in

the port together since March 1940.

A fitting climax for the two great liners which many of us thought we would never witness again.