Qe2 News

Albwardy Damen celebrated its tenth anniversary on November 15th by officially opening its new ship repair facility at Dubai Maritime City (DMC). Over 100 guests from both the regional maritime industry and the Dubai government joined the Albwardy Damen management team at their new DMC workshop and Dubai HQ for the opening ceremony, followed by lunch on board the famous Queen Elizabeth II (QE2) ocean liner. Albwardy Damen is a joint venture between Albwardy Marine Engineering and the Damen Shipyards Group…

The Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) ocean liner has been given a new lease of life as a floating hotel in Dubai, 10 years after the Gulf Arab emirate bought it for $100 million.State-owned Dubai World bought the QE2 from Cunard Line in 2007, but the 2008 financial crisis delayed any plans for the 40-year-old vessel, one of the world's most famous ships.Now the QE2, permanently moored at Mina Rashid port, has been refurbished based on the original design, from its carpets to the theatre…

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) should amend regulations banning the use of asbestos and asbestos containing materials (ACM) in ships, says John Chillingworth, senior marine principal at Lucion Marine. Regulations under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) state that if asbestos is found onboard a ship built after July 2002 then the vessel’s flag registry, in conjunction with its classification society, issues a non-extendable exemption certificate, providing the owner with a three-year window in which to remove the asbestos.

Legionella can plague marine vessels, but an effective water safety plan can help to mitigate the risk, says John Chillingworth, senior marine principal at Lucion Marine. Initial symptoms of Legionella usually include flu-like symptoms such as headaches, muscle pain and fever, with symptoms of pneumonia once bacteria begin to infect the lungs. There are different degrees of Legionella: the worst can cause death but there is a lesser known form called Pontiac, which can often be misdiagnosed as flu and can only be accurately verified by having a urine test.

The cruise ship 'Queen Elizabeth', has arrived at the Blohm & Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, for her first scheduled dry-docking since she entered service in 2010, inform Cunard Line. “Queen Elizabeth is already a much loved ship and following this multi-million dollar refit, she is sure to shine brightly for years to come,” said David Dingle, CEO for Cunard Line. On the technical side, scrubber technology (exhaust gas cleaning system) is being installed in line with Cunard’s commitment to minimising the company’s environmental impact. In response to passenger demand and changing demographics, a total of nine new single staterooms are being created on Deck 2 midships by remodeling part of Queen Elizabeth’s casino.

Dubai's QE 2 Holdings Ltd. chairman, His Excellency Khamis Juma Buamim, sets out his company's vision of a new life for the veteran cruise liner –  as a hotel ship – in his speech to dignitories. Outlining the work that has been completed, the chairman provided details of the transfer of ownership of the vessel to a new entity called QE2 Shipping LLC, based out of & owned by Dubai & that all necessary registry documentation with the flag state on the ownership of the vessel had been completed.

During the past two years Drydocks World (DDW) has suffered from the restraints of a financial problem following the purchase of one shipyard in Singapore and one on the Indonesian island of Batam (both former Pan United shipyards) and two more on Batam (both former Leroy shipyards). This debt has now been restructured and the management of those yards has been taken over by China’s Paxocean, thus leaving DDW is a much better state and looking forward to a better future. The main yard of DDW is Drydocks World – Dubai (DDW-D)…

Iconic cruise liner to be restored to the former splendor of her glory days after refurbishment into elegant five-star 500-room hotel. QE2 Dubai announced that MS Queen Elizabeth 2 - known popularly as QE2 - will be moved to Drydocks World Dubai for undertaking classification checks prior to her renovation as a luxury floating hotel. Before itsretirement to Dubai on November 11, 2008, the QE2 took regular cruises around the world as well as operating a scheduled liner service across the Atlantic Ocean between Southampton in the UK and New York.

Dubai has cancelled plans to host over 160 events aboard the QE2, which is currently moored at Port Rashid, while the emirate plans how to dispose of the asset. Dubai has cancelled plans to host over 160 events aboard the QE2, the iconic cruise liner it bought for $100m in 2007 and which is currently moored at Port Rashid, Arabian Business has learned. Owned by Istithmar, the investment arm of state-owned Dubai World, since June 2007, various plans have been pitched over the last five years to turn the 45 year-old cruise liner into a luxury floating hotel.

Istithmar World, DP World and the QE2 management announce the iconic QE2 is to have a permanent home at the heart of Port Rashid, the hub of cruising in the Middle East. The vessel will be moored next to the original cruise terminal at Port Rashid and converted into a 300 room luxury hotel, with top quality lifestyle facilities, while the terminal itself will be developed into a maritime museum. Once converted, the QE2 will once again display the ship’s collection of art works…

A forward-looking sonar from Marine Electronics Ltd of Guernsey, UK, has been installed aboard a British-operated tanker as a major initiative to refine operational safety. The See Echo system was developed by Marine Electronics in cooperation with the ship owner to provide a three-dimensional image of the sea up to one kilometre ahead of the vessel. It is now undergoing a trials programme which, if successful, will result in its installation aboard other ships in the company’s substantial fleet.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) surveyors from the Southampton Marine Office have completed a full inspection of the Queen Elizabeth 2 liner after its Nov. 11 grounding near the Brambles sand bank in the Solent, and they have given the all clear for the ship to continue on its final journey. At 05.30 on Nov. 11 the crew of the 70,000 gross tons ship reported to Solent Coastguard that they feared she may have run aground two nautical miles north west of Cowes whilst en route into Southampton.

Liferaft Systems Australia (LSA) has secured a contract worth approximately $4.8m to supply Marine Evacuation Systems to the UK Ministry of Defense for use on two new British aircraft carriers. LSA European Manager Mr. Peter Rea said it was the biggest single contract since the company was founded over 16 years ago. “LSA has been working on finalizing this contract for about 18 months after we were initially approached by Aircraft Carrier Alliance who had noticed the design and quality of our product” he said.

On Sunday, January 13, 2008, Cunard Line operator of The Most Famous Ocean Liners in the World will, for the first and only time, sail their three liner Queens – flagship Queen Mary 2, famed Queen Elizabeth 2 and the new Queen Victoria -- together out of New York harbor. The regal fleet is scheduled to depart at 6:30 p.m. Queen Mary 2 will depart from her home port, Brooklyn Cruise Terminal while QE2 will depart from Pier 92 and Queen Victoria will depart from Pier 88 both at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. Then, the three Queens will rendezvous and sail past the Statue of Liberty during a spectacular fireworks celebration at approximately 7:00 p.m.

Cunard’s new Fincantieri-built 90,000gt cruiseliner, Queen Victoria, due to be named in Southampton by the Duchess of Cornwall accompanied by the Prince of Wales in December, has been fitted with a SAM Electronics’ NACOS 65-5 integrated navigation command system featuring a radar-controlled trackpilot, Ecdis and other state-of-the-art sensors. Designed to DNV NAUT AW and LR IBS standards and also featuring particularly high levels of system redundancy, the complete assembly functionally integrates radar, ECDIS and autopilot operations.

According to Lazard Freres and Co., the impact on Carnival's (CCL) business in the first week following terrorist attacks on September 11th is estimated at around $20 million, including loss of revenue from canceled cruises, port reposition costs, and additional transportation expenses. They have since dropped to about 50 to 60 percent of typical levels for this period, but cancellations, which had increased sharply in the days immediately following September 11th, have started to decline steadily with new bookings now outpacing cancellations. Luxury product continued to suffer in the quarter- the company has sold two vessels from the Seabourn fleet and reduced staff at Cunard/Seabourn by 25 percent.

By Stuart C. Karon and Dr. In the September 2002 issue of Maritime Reporter and Engineering News, a detailed discussion was featured on the advantages of future High Temperature Superconductor (HTS) machinery for propulsion of electric drive ships. • Motors A 5-MW 230-rpm machine for the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research (ONR) is undergoing factory tests. ONR is now funding the next step - design, fabrication and factory testing of a 36.5-MW 120-rpm machine to prove the technology at full-scale for warships. • Generators Development of HTS generators has also leapt ahead with the initial production of 10-MVAR synchronous condensers for utility voltage adjusting service. These condensers are very similar in design and operation to 10-MW, 1,800-rpm generators.

Cunard Line's flagship Queen Mary 2 returned from the sea after having completed her sea trials 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 January 12 Maiden Voyage from Southampton, England, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. According to Captain Ronald Warwick…

Cunard is delighted to confirm that Her Majesty The Queen will name the company's new flagship Queen Mary 2 at a ceremony to take place in Southampton, England, on Thursday, January 8, 2004. Her Majesty will be accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. The launch will be a milestone in British maritime history and will be a major event of worldwide interest. According to Pamela Conover, president of Cunard Line: "This will be an historic occasion in the true sense of the word. The Queen honoured Cunard by launching our current flagship QE2 in 1967, and we are delighted Her Majesty has agreed to do the same for our next transatlantic liner, Queen Mary 2.

Confounding the skeptics who said the 70,300-gt Queen Elizabeth 2 would be the last transatlantic liner ever built, the 150,000-gt Queen Mary 2 is set to make her service debut in January 2004, signifying a $780-million investment in a luxury passenger ship structurally engineered for the North Atlantic. Destined to uphold and revitalize the Cunard liner tradition, the 30-knot QM2 will break new ground in passenger ship technology, while incorporating lessons learned with the 1969-commissioned QE2. The challenge of fulfilling an extremely tough schedule in a notoriously harsh environment, and of meeting rising customer expectations as to service quality, comfort and reliability in all conditions, permeates every aspect of the technical design.

Captain Ronald Warwick, master of Cunard Line's new Queen Mary 2, has been awarded the rank of commodore, the highest position a cruise line can bestow on one of its captains. The announcement was made December 26, 2003, as Queen Mary 2 was welcomed to Southampton - her British home port - for the very first time. "I am pleased to make this appointment, which recognises Ron Warwick's long and distinguished career with this great company," said Pamela Conover, Cunard's president and chief operating officer. Queen Mary 2 is the first ocean liner to be built in over three decades. The 2,620-passenger vessel is the largest (151,400 tons), longest (1,132 feet/345 metres), tallest (236 feet/72 metres), widest (135 feet/41 metres) and most expensive ($800 million) passenger ship ever built.

When QE2 arrives in New York on 25 April and berths next to Queen Mary 2 it will be the first time since March 1940 that two Cunard Queens have berthed together in the port. The send-off will include fireworks as both vessels anchor off the Statue of Liberty. During the six-day crossing both vessels will remain within sight of each other – another event not witnessed since September 1967. Both ships will arrive in their home port of Southampton on 1 May. QE2 then heads off to…

When Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth 2 commences its 2002 schedule of transatlantic crossings it will offer travellers the chance to travel in one direction via British Airways’ supersonic Concorde. Passengers can purchase the upgrade to Concorde service for an additional $1,995, a savings of more than $4,000 per person. A six-day QE2 transatlantic crossing between New York and Southampton is priced from $1,349 per person, double occupancy, including all meals, entertainment, port charges and Economy Class air (either to or from the ship). Business Class air is included for upper-level staterooms. air journey for just $1,995 per person. As a special bonus, passengers can schedule their Concorde flight on any day they choose, subject to space availability.