Queen Elizabeth 2

Queen Elizabeth 2

IMO number: 6725418

The RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2 ) is a former British passenger ship. She was for 35 years the flagship of the British shipping company Cunard Line until it was replaced in 2004 by the Queen Mary 2. The home port of QE2 was the English Southampton.

From November 2008 to Winter 2012/ 13, the QE2 was berthed in Port Rashid, the port of Dubai. Early 2013, she was prepared for transfer to Singapore, where it can serve as a hotel ship.

History

The QE2 was, as I built the old RMS Queen Elizabeth at the shipyard of John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. The keel was laid on July 5, 1965, the launching on 20 September 1967, and the first test run on 26 November 1968. Their maiden voyage she made on May 2, 1969 by Southampton to New York.

In 1982 she took part in the Falklands War, when it was requisitioned along with other ships and served as a fast troop transport in the South Atlantic.

In August 1992, her hull was damaged considerably, as they ran on a rock in twelve feet of water during a day trip from New York to Martha 's Vineyard in Cape Cod.

In the early morning hours of September 11, 1995, she was hit on the way to New York on the Grand Banks of a 33 -meter-high giant wave caused by the unusually far drawn into the North Atlantic Hurricane Luis. The ship was subsequently damaged while still roadworthy, but difficult. The QE2 was founded in 2004 after the Queen Mary 2 was put into service, discharged from the trans-Atlantic liner service, and has since been used throughout the year around the world as a cruise ship.

On 18 June 2007, the Cunard Line announced that the ship for $ 100 million to Dubai for sale at the end of 2008, where it on the eastern edge of the Palm Islands as a museum should be definite ( with land station ), shopping center and hotel ship in spring 2009. By the end of November 2008, the QE2 still led by cruises. On 16 October 2008, the Queen Elizabeth 2 met for the last time at the port of New York. Here was the end point of a study conducted by over 800 Atlantic crossings. The for a long time last voyage of the ship - New York - Dubai - began on 11 November 2008 On 27 November, the QE2 arrived in Dubai, was reflagged to the United Arab Emirates and the Außenpier of Port Rashid a tag for their new use. moored as a floating hotel.

Actually, the QE2 should be part of the major project Palm Jumeirah. This project was but during the economic crisis due to enormously high costs, for example, would have been incurred for the dredging of the navigation channel for ocean liners to the designated berth, abandoned. Consequently, also the planned reconstruction of the QE2 was not initially addressed.

In July 2012, it was announced that the QE2 will be converted to a 300-bed luxury hotel ( ship ). This is a large part of its original interior and the original art collection remain. The QE2 should be directly adjacent to the current cruise terminal, which is converted into a maritime museum. Museum and QE2 should be the main attraction of the renewed cruise port.

In December of 2012 and January 2013 there were reports that the Southeast Asian financial house Oceanic Group wants to rent the boat for an annual rent of one million British pounds by Dubai World, with a call option after ten years for £ 35 million. For other work required to convert the QE2 to Singapore the ship at the Drydocks World in Dubai was docked. The company was founded QE2 floating hotels to operate as a hotel ship in Singapore. Operating costs amount to around 800,000 euros a month.

2013 was the Chinese shipyard COSCO the contract for the reconstruction of the QE2 to the hotel ship. Here are 900 cabins will be converted to 400 suites with sizes from 60 to 150 square meters. The renovation, which also includes other changes aim, to be completed by 2015.

Background

Naming

The "2" in the name it differs from the first ship of that name, the RMS Queen Elizabeth, who was after Queen Elizabeth, the wife of King George VI. Named. The QE2 was after its predecessor, the QE, named and received a 2 to distinguish this. Queen Elizabeth II, who carried out the naming ceremony, though said " I name this ship Queen Elizabeth the Second ", but Cunard uses the Arabic numerals to distinguish the ship from the Queen. This is a sensitive issue, since it was awarded in the tradition of the British monarch name only to large ships of the Royal Navy.

Equipment

The QE2 was considered to construction of its successor, as the last great transatlantic liner and was prior to their conversion to diesel power, the last oil -fired passenger steamship on a regular Atlantic line.

After the construction of the ship propulsion system consists of two Brown Pametrada gear steam turbine sets consisted of a total of 110,000 horsepower, which had twin screws. The steam was supplied by three boilers, the required 520 tons of fuel a day.

Due to frequent disturbances of the turbines ( blade breakage) and the inefficiency of the drive system was replaced on the Lloyd shipyard in Bremerhaven by a diesel-electric drive this 1986. Behind the two propellers Grim'sche idlers were arranged to increase the overall efficiency. Now consists of two electric motors of the drive to bring the 44 MW per one screw. Be supplied to the drive and the entire ship over nine nine-cylinder, MAN -B & W four-stroke diesel engines, each rated 10,625 kW.

Use

During her service as the Cunard flagship, she was primarily as a transatlantic liner in use. In addition, cruises were mainly during the winter season, but offered around the globe. Most recently she was operating solely as a cruise ship and sailed the transatlantic route in this function only rarely.

The Queen Elizabeth 2 is still one of the fastest passenger ships. It is larger than the RMS Titanic, but smaller than its predecessor RMS Queen Elizabeth and her successor Queen Mary 2, so that she could go through the Panama Canal. The QE2 could accommodate 1900 passengers and 1015 crew members, for a total of 2915 people. On the ship, five restaurants, two cafes, three swimming pools, a library, a hospital and a 481 -seat auditorium were housed. Furthermore, there was a pub, a nightclub and several bars, a casino, shopping promenade and a fitness center.

Find out more

  • On 11 September 1995, the Queen Elizabeth 2 was over on the way from Cherbourg to New York on the Grand Banks a meeting with a monster wave. According to the crew, who are supported by the data of a Canadian Wetterboje, it was this is a "Three Sisters" phenomenon with wave heights of 28-29 meters (according to other reports, a wave had a height of 33 meters ) and a period of 13 seconds. Captain Ronald Warwick described it as a " huge wall of water ... It looked as if we would head directly into the white cliffs of Dover. "
  • The Queen Elizabeth 2 was the only passenger ship in the world that was equipped with a small synagogue. The sale of the vessel was complete, including all furnishings, such as a functional kitchen, but also bar facilities, paintings, dishes and the like. Alone, the synagogue was built before the handover to the new Arab owners and including the present there Torah scrolls and other holy objects to the Jewish community in England passed.
  • 1980 named the musician Mike Oldfield his album QE2 after the ship.
  • During the transatlantic crossing from Southampton to New York from October 28 to November 4, 1994 graduated from the German marathon runner Friedhelm Weidemann on November 1, the first man ever in the course of an ocean - crossing a marathon. In 4:34 hours Weidemann covered the distance over 42.195 kilometers and thus secured a place in the Guinness Book of Records.
  • The Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser died on 19 February 2000 aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 during the crossing from his adopted home of New Zealand to Europe.
  • An Atlantic crossing to New York with the QE2 is the subject of the book The luxury liner by Lothar -Günther Buchheim.
  • On 13 January 2008, the three known luxury liner Cunard met. Queen Elizabeth 2 left simultaneously with the Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria of New York Harbor. The meeting was accompanied by a fireworks display.

New Queen Elizabeth

A new Queen Elizabeth ( without additional name and number) was commissioned in 2007 from the Italian shipyard Fincantieri in order and was delivered in October 2010.

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