Throng

megastructures
qm2 superliner (2/3)
20.00–21.00

Continuing tonight on Five is a new series of the programme that lifts the lid on some of the most incredible structures and machines ever created. Tonight’s episode looks at the colossal RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2) superliner – the longest, tallest and broadest ship ever built at the time of its completion in 2003.

The Queen Mary 2 was designed to reinvigorate the world of ocean cruise liners, which had been almost killed off by the advent of commercial transatlantic flights in 1958. This £500 million ‘city at sea’ was built to replace its predecessor, the Queen Elizabeth 2, on the 3,000 mile Southampton-New York route.

The man behind the project was billionaire Micky Arison, who first dreamt of building a new ship when the 1997 film ‘Titanic’ inspired a wave of nostalgia for ocean liners. Arison bought the world-famous Cunard line and drew up plans to replace the QE2 before her retirement in 2004. This gave engineers only two years to complete the new vessel. For naval architect Stephen Payne, the QM2 was a dream job: “It was such a mind-blowing, mind-boggling project to be involved in,” he says.

The shipyard at St Nazarie, France, was chosen to build the new liner. From the very beginning, the QM2 would be unlike any ship before it: in order to recoup its costs, the liner would have to accommodate 2,000 people and be capable of crossing the Atlantic in just six days, with a tenhour turnaround prior to making its return voyage. To this end, the ship would have to be bigger and faster than its predecessors.

Stephen Payne’s first challenge was to satisfy Micky Arison’s demand that at least half the cabins have balconies – an unprecedented number for a liner. The ship could not be made too tall, as it risked collapsing, so Payne’s answer was to make it wider than originally planned. This meant that the QM2 would not be able to pass through the Panama canal. Any future round-theworld cruise would have to take a 9,000-mile detour around South America.

Next, Payne worked on measures to counter “rogue waves” in the Atlantic, which can reach a height of three storeys. Oceanographer Simon Boxall explains the threat that the Atlantic’s rough waters pose: “Rogue waves are more than capable of sending a ship to the sea floor in a matter of minutes,” he says. The solution included a special bow with a breakwater shield.

The propulsion of the mammoth vessel represented another formidable challenge. In order to meet its tight six-day schedule, the QM2 had to reach a speed of 30 knots. This was achieved through the use of five diesel engines and a pair of gas turbines similar to aircraft engines on the top of the ship.

With time of the essence, the ship was built in sections and fitted together like a giant jigsaw puzzle. Onto the body of the craft were attached the funnel, stabilising fins, side thrusters and, finally, four innovative “pods” – enormous propellers that steer the ship in close quarters. “We can turn this ship around on a pinhead – just incredible!” the ship’s captain, Ronald Warwick, says.

With the bulk of the vessel completed, work began on the ship’s opulent interior, including a ballroom, library, theatre, art gallery, casino and even a planetarium. Despite serious setbacks in the final stages of the project – including the deaths of 16 people in a gangway collapse – the completed Queen Mary 2 was delivered on time to a rapturous welcome. This leviathan has set the standard for all ocean liners to come, representing the epitome of luxury and state-ofthe- art design.