Work starts on world's biggest liner

How the new Queen Mary II will look

The construction of the biggest passenger ship of all time has started at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyards in France's western port of Saint-Nazaire.

With a length of 345 metres, the Queen Mary II will be 45 metres longer than the height of the Eiffel Tower and as tall as a 23-storey building.

Queen Mary II in figures

345 metres long

17 decks

2,620 passengers, 1,250 crew members

3,000 telephones

25,000 square metres of carpet

4,339 steps requiring 250 tonnes of paint

She will carry 2,620 passengers, enjoying the most luxurious accommodation and facilities ever provided on a cruise liner, with 1,250 crew at their disposal.

With a maximum speed of 30 knots, she will cross the Atlantic ocean in six days.

Project manager Alain Crouzols described the project as "an extraordinary venture". "The difficulty lies less in the size of the ship than in the industry's lack of references for working on such a scale".

Red Ensign

The Queen Mary II will be owned by the British shipping company Cunard, its fourth major passenger ship following the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and the still operational Queen Elizabeth II.

The first such ship built outside Britain, she will fly the United Kingdom's Red Ensign, with Southampton as home port. French La Chaine Info television says she is expected to arrive at the end of 2003.

The Chantiers de l'Atlantique company, which is owned by Alstom, won the contract to build the ship in November 2000 in competition with the Northern Irish company Harland and Wolff.

The contract is reviving Frane's shipbuilding industry

It is the biggest contract ever signed by the company. Worth 780m dollars, the ship is not only the biggest of its kind ever built but also the most expensive.

Shipping revival

The project is having a major impact on the local economy, creating 1,000 jobs at the shipyard with a further 6,000 going to sub-contractors.

It also heralds the revival of France's shipbuilding industry. After several years of decline, Chantiers de l'Atlantique has regained its position as the world's number one builder of passenger liners.

It has now the capacity to build between five and six vessels a year. Four years ago, it could only turn out two and its future was in doubt. It now has orders until early 2004.

Its turnover has nearly tripled in the last three years and its operating costs have been cut by a third.

The Queen Mary II is due to be placed on the slipway in July 2002 and Cunard is expected to organize a big celebration in Saint-Nazaire to mark the event.

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