Cunard sign contracts to build QM2

Report by Kirsten Bowling

CUNARD Line, owners of the QE2, has signed contracts for the building of their new ship Queen Mary 2.

The QM2, due for completion in 2003, is set to become the world’s largest transatlantic cruise liner and will be the first built by Cunard since the QE2 in 1967.

It will be built by the French shipyard Alstom Chantiers de L’Atlantique in Saint Nazaire at a cost of £538 million.

Cunard Line president and chief executive officer Larry Pimentel said: “The QM2 will be based in Southampton and is a sister to the QE2, not a replacement. It will be the longest passenger ship ever built, three times longer than St Paul’s and 23 storeys high.”

The QM2 will also offer a college at sea, with seven flexible classrooms. Courses will be diverse, ranging from ballroom dancing to cookery lessons. There will also be an Internet centre, a planetarium, 800 seat cinema, five swimming pools and shops.