CHENNAI : The world’s largest ocean cruise liner, the Cunard’s flagship M V QUEEN MARY 2, a modern Bermuda flag cruise vessel, berthed at Chennai Port with 1255 crew and 2528 passengers on board. Queen Mary 2 is the largest transatlantic ocean liner ever built, with a gross tonnage of 148,528 GT, the post-Panamax ship having served as the flagship of the Cunard Line.
Queen Mary 2 is 345 metres long, 48.7 metres in breadth and has a draft of 10.3 metres. It has a maximum speed of just over 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) and a cruising speed of 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph), much faster than a contemporary cruise ship.The Cruise Liner has 15 restaurants and bars, five swimming pools, a casino, a ballroom, a theatre, and the first planetarium at sea. It also has 13 decks (8 decks with 1363 cabins) and provides passenger space ratio (PSR) of 45.
P Raveendran, chairman, Chennai Port Trust, and Captain Christopher Wells, Master of the Vessel, exchanged commemorative plaques as a token of goodwill on the cruise liner’s maiden visit to Chennai Port. The Chairman, briefed the officers of the Queen Mary 2 on the cultural and historical importance of Chennai and its features and status on the world tourism circuit. He also highlighted the historical importance of the Chennai Port.
The Cruise Liner, which berthed at the newly modernized Cruise Passenger Facilitation Centre on Sunday, left on the same day forKochi. Twenty-nine passengers embarked and 74 passengers disembarked from the cruise vessel.Queen Mary 2 arrived with guests from UK (1396),
USA (324), Australia (180), Germany (161), Canada (133), New Zealand (41) and other countries.
345 metres
Length of Queen Mary 2. It is also 48.7 metres in breadth and has a draft of 10.3 metres