Roblightbody dot com
  • Home
    • What's New?
    • About Rob >
      • QE2 Talks & speaker
    • Contact
  • Rob's Blog
  • Gadgets
  • Ocean Liners
    • Queen Mary 2 >
      • QM2 News in service
      • QM2 News (When New)
      • QM2 News (Pre Float-out) >
        • My Travels
      • QM2 Reviews
      • QM2 A Ship of Superlative Comparisons
    • Queen Elizabeth 2 >
      • QE2 in Dubai (QE2 Today)
      • QE2 Forum (link)
      • My own QE2 Story >
        • My QE2 Photos
        • 2008 Stephen Payne QE2 Lecture
        • 2008 QE2 Last Thoughts
        • 2008 QE2 Clyde Farewell
        • 2008 August QE2 Cruise
        • 2007 December QE2 Cruise
        • 2007 September QE2 Clyde
        • 2005 August QE2 Queensferry
        • 2003 June QE2 Queensferry
        • 1987 QE2 April Bremerhaven >
          • QE2 April 1987 Exterior Photos
          • QE2 April 1987 Interior Photos
      • QE2 News >
        • QE2 Dubai News (2008 to 2015) >
          • Fears grow over bid to turn QE2 into a hotel in Dubai
        • QE2 News 2008
        • QE2 Sold to Dubai Articles (2007)
        • QE2 News 2007
        • QE2 News 2006
        • QE2 News 2002 to 2005
        • QE2 News 1998 to 2001
      • QE2's Name
      • QE2 1987 Rebirth
      • QE2 Reviews 1997 to 2007
      • Speed Queen
      • QE2 Storm Photos
      • QE2 1975 Guide
      • 1969 Shipshapes
      • QE2 Sydney 2006
      • QE2 Cutaways
      • QE2 in 1969
      • QE2 Fuel Economy
      • QE2 Facts
      • Bridgecam Snaps
      • QE2 1995 Freak Wave
      • QE2 Bridge View
    • SS France >
      • SS France Swan Song (2001)
      • 2006 Finalé >
        • Telegraph April 2006
        • Miami Herald
        • AP News May 2006
        • Justin Huggler Article
        • BBC News June 2006
        • July 2006 (MSNBC)
      • Scrapping Allowed (2007)
    • United States >
      • Maiden Voyage
      • NCL Buys SS United States
    • Queen Elizabeth
    • Queen Mary >
      • No rushing Churchill and his ship of state
      • RMS Queen Mary News >
        • 2007 Fate of rusting Queen Mary in the balance
        • 2006 Queen Marys Meet
        • 2004 As ship and work of art, the QM still an original
        • 2001 Is Queen Mary seaworthy?
        • 2000 Sir John Brown Dies
        • 1998 - Queen of Kitsch
    • Normandie
    • Lusitania & Mauritania
    • Aquitania >
      • Aquitania Emails
    • Other Liners >
      • Transvaal Castle
      • Saxonia
      • Ivernia
      • Caronia
  • Cars
    • Classic Mini >
      • My Classic Minis
      • History >
        • End of Mini >
          • FT Sep 2000
          • Glasgow Herald
          • BBC News
          • Autocar March 2000
        • Sexist Adverts
        • John Cooper Dies
      • Brochures
      • My Archive
      • The MPi Minis >
        • Official Launch Documents
        • Classic Mini Postcards
        • MPI Mini Colours and trim, 1997 onwards
        • 1998 - Examples of MPI changes from SPI
        • 1998 MPI Mini Price List
        • Extracts from the 1996 Brochure launching the 1997 model year Minis
      • SPI Mini ACR2 Fault Code Reader
    • First new MINI
    • Ford Puma
    • Mazda MX-5 Miata
    • Austin Princess
    • Favourite Cars
  • PS Waverley
  • Scotland
    • Jeely Piece Song
    • Flower of Scotland
    • Where's the Glasgow?
    • I Belong to Glasgow (link)
  • Chuckles
  • Cool Websites
Home > Ocean Liners > Queen Mary 2 > QM2 News Pre Float Out > Cunard Signs Letter of Intent for Queen Mary 2

Cunard Signs Letter of Intent for Queen Mary 2


Company Press Release
SOURCE: Cunard Line
Cunard Signs Letter of Intent for Queen Mary 2
$700 Million Liner Will Be the World's Longest, Largest Ever - and the Fastest Cruise Liner Since QE2

MIAMI, March 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Cunard Line announced today that the company has signed a letter of intent to build its super-liner Queen Mary 2 at the Alstom Chantiers de L'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. The liner is expected to be launched in the last quarter of 2003. Once launched, Queen Mary 2 is intended to fly the British flag, with her homeport being Southampton, England.

``The signing of this letter of intent is a significant milestone in the birth of this unique vessel,'' said Micky Arison, Chairman and CEO of Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL - news), Cunard's parent company. ``Over the last months, our vision of the first true ocean liner to be built in a generation has evolved from a dream to a detailed plan on paper. We are satisfied that the shipyard that created Normandie, France and other legendary liners has the capability to make that dream a reality.''

Alstom Chantiers de L'Atlantique, which employs over 4,000 workers in its facility, has a continuing record of delivering ships of unusual size and style. Recent projects at the yard resulted in large ships for the coastal cruising trade. However, it is entirely another matter to construct a purpose-built transatlantic liner. From the architect's plans to the nature of the steel plating that forms the skin of the hull, a liner differs in most details from the sorts of ships that have been built in the last three decades. Nonetheless, Alstom's officers are confident that their company represents the best choice for Cunard.

``We want to build this magnificent ship because of our history and because of our future,'' said Alstom Chantiers de L'Atlantique Chairman and CEO Patrick Boissier. ``We understand the character of the ship they want to build, and we know how to build that kind of ship.''

``The level of excitement and interest in this project is beyond anything we could have imagined,'' said Cunard Line President and CEO Larry Pimentel.  ``Queen Mary 2 seems to embody the public's renewed fascination with the romance of a bygone era of sea travel. Now that excitement and interest is being transformed into a tangible project, with dollars and cents attached to it. From the start, we believed that this project could be realized. Now we have agreed to the fundamentals of how we are going to make Queen Mary 2 not merely a reality, but a sound investment and a resounding success.''

``QM2 will measure over 1,130 feet in length,'' Pimentel continued, ``That's just 117 feet shorter than the Empire State Building is tall. She'll tower nearly 21 stories in height from keel to masthead, with a gross registered tonnage of nearly 150,000 tons.''  Pimentel stated that QM2 is expected to carry just 2,800 guests, which is a very small complement for a ship of this size, and a guest-to-crew ratio of about 2-to-1 will enable a superb service standard.

``But aside from her sheer size,'' said Pimentel, ``She is a marvel of innovative features, specifically designed for her. For instance, she will be propelled by the world's first four-pod ship propulsion system, utilizing two fixed and two rotating propulsion pods that will enable her to cruise at nearly 30 knots. Inside, she'll have all the dramatic features and grand scale that marked the great liners of the past, enhanced by the latest technology for comfort and convenience. The combination of all of these elements will produce the most luxurious ocean liner ever built.''

A recent agreement with the City of Long Beach, California and its affiliates which operate the floating hotel Queen Mary has cleared the way for Cunard Line to use the name Queen Mary 2 for its new liner.

The final building agreement is subject to several conditions including the finalization of definitive contracts and financing.

Cunard Line, one of the world's most recognized brand names with a classic British heritage, is operated by Miami-based Cunard Line Limited, which also operates Seabourn Cruise Line. Cunard Line Limited is a unit of Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL - news).

The Cunard fleet includes famed Queen Elizabeth 2 and Caronia. The Seabourn fleet includes Seabourn Sun, Seabourn Pride, Spirit and Legend and Seabourn Goddess I & II.  Cunard Line and Seabourn Cruise Line are members of the exclusive World's Leading Cruise Lines alliance, which also includes Carnival Cruise Lines,Holland America Line, Costa Cruises and Windstar Cruises. Together, these member lines share a commitment to quality and value, offering cruise vacations that appeal to the widest range of lifestyles and budgets and sail to some of the world's most exciting destinations. Cunard Line and Seabourn Cruise Line represent nearly 50 percent of the world's luxury cruise market.

SOURCE: Cunard Line

Sections

Rob's Blog
​Gadget Reviews

Ships

PS Waverley
Queen Mary 2
Queen Elizabeth 2
RMS Queen Elizabeth
RMS Queen Mary
More Liners

Cars

Classic Mini
New MINI (2001)
Mazda Miata MX-5
Wedge Princess
Ford Puma
Other Favourites

Everything Else

Whats New
About Rob
Contact Rob
Chuckles
Cool Sites