| Its all about ships and more |
| CUNARD LINE |
It is not unusual for three large cruise ships to be in New York harbor on any given
day. It is also not that unusual to have three cruise ships from the same line in New
York at the same time. However, on 13 January 2008, when the three Cunard
Queen-class ocean liners came together in New York it was something altogether
different. "The visit and departure of the QE2, QM2 and the QUEEN VICTORIA
was an impressive and significant event for the international maritime community and
New York City," commented Captain Robert O'Brien, Commander, U.S. Coast
Guard, Sector New York and Captain of the Port of New York.
Cunard Line has a special place in maritime history. In 1840, the British
company began the first regularly scheduled transatlantic passenger service and it is the
only line that continues to provide regular transatlantic service.
While there have been many famous passenger ships on the Atlantic, at the
pinnacle are the first two Cunard Queens: QUEEN MARY of 1936 (81,235 g.r.t.)
and the QUEEN ELIZABETH of 1940 (83,673 g.r.t.). Technologically, these two
1,000-foot ocean liners were a step beyond almost everything of their day. In
addition, they had an unsurpassed reputation for luxury, reliability and service.
Furthermore, with their ability to carry an entire division at speeds over 30 knots,
these two ships played a vital role in World War II. Indeed, Winston Churchill
credited them with shortening the war by a year.
The reputation of the Cunard Queens was further enhanced when QUEEN
ELIZABETH 2 (QE2) (70,327 g.r.t) went into service in 1969. Designed to do both
transatlantic crossings and cruising, QE2 became the world's most famous ship.
Technologically far in advance of her time, QE2 was constantly able to adapt to
changing times over a nearly 40 year history. She was a familiar sight in New York
until 2004 when she was taken off the transatlantic service and stationed in England to
do cruising. Like her predecessors, she too played an indispensable role in wartime,
allowing Great Britain to transport sufficient troops to retake the Falkland Islands from
Argentina in 1982 (See The Log Fall 2005 at p. 10).
While it was presumed for many years that QE2 would be the last ocean liner, in
2004, Cunard put QUEEN MARY 2 (QM2) (151,400 g.r.t) into service doing both
transatlantic crossings and cruises. Currently the world's largest passenger ship in
terms of physical dimensions, QM2 is both fast (30 plus knots) and highly
maneuverable. Just as importantly, she has emerged from the shadow of her famous
fleet-mate with her own style of sophisticated elegance. (See The Log, Winter 2006
at p. 17).
Designed to complement QM2, QUEEN VICTORIA (90,000 g.r.t) is the second
largest Cunard ship ever built in terms of gross tonnage. (See The Log, Summer 2007
at p. 21). Her role will be to do cruises including world cruises. "She was launched
back in December, one month ago. A spectacular naming ceremony - - she was
named by her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla, and her husband, his
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, was also in attendance. We
were delighted to have them for the very first ship naming ever that they have
performed together," said Carol Marlow, President of Cunard Line.
Thus, the Cunard Queens are special ships and when the three remaining Queens
came together in New York on 13 January, it was a special event. "It is not only
special because this is the first time we have had these three ships together, it is special
because it will never happen again. QE2 is leaving our fleet to go on to pastures new
in November of this year and they are not programmed to meet in any other port
between now and then," noted Ms. Marlow.
This event was not a spur of the moment thing. "We plan our programs [ship
itineraries] some 18 months to two years in advance so this has been planned for a
very long time. We put together the schedules and our guests noticed that all of our
Queens would be in New York at the same time and as you can imagine, the sale of
these voyages were very strong," said Ms. Marlow.
"We are delighted to have them all here today in New York because New York is
actually the port that Cunard has been coming to continuously for the longest period of
time. We have come continuously to New York more and for a longer period than
we have for Southampton in England, which is their homeport, but also Liverpool,
which was the home of Cunard in the 1800s. So, this really is a very special place for
us."
The three ships arrived from different directions. QUEEN MARY 2 has adopted
New York as her homeport for the winter, doing a series of New York to the
Caribbean cruises. Consequently, she approached New York from the south.
QUEEN VICTORIA and QE2 had just begun world cruises, the first for the
former and the last for the latter. They came across the Atlantic together weathering
the rough seas that are commonplace this time of the year on that body of water.
Nonetheless, they arrived ahead of schedule to rendezvous with QM2 at Ambrose.
The three ships entered the harbor in the pre-dawn hours. QM2 diverted from the
others and proceeded along Buttermilk Channel to her usual berth in Brooklyn.
QUEEN VICTORIA and QE2 went up the North River to the Passenger Ship
Terminal on the West Side of Manhattan. The new ship berthed at the recently
renovated Pier 88 while QE2 continued to Pier 92.
For the Coast Guard the event presented a number of challenges. "Our primary
concerns were for the security of the ships and facilitating safe transit of other vessels
in the vicinity," Captain O'Brien explained.
"A safety zone was established around the three vessels in New York's Upper
Bay from 1900 until approximately 2030. The zone closed off marine traffic to a large
portion of the upper bay, extending from the mouth of the Hudson River to well south
of the Statue of Liberty. Vessel movements were restricted within this area. This zone
was enforced by a collective group of law enforcement assets including: USCG,
NYPD, New Jersey State Police, and National Park Service vessels. The Coast
Guard Cutter STURGEON BAY acted as the Patrol Commander and coordinated
the effort to successfully complete this mission. Sector New York, with its state and
local law enforcement partners, has a long history of securing major marine events in
New York Harbor."
In addition, there was the question of inspections. As a condition of allowing
foreign-flag passenger vessels to take on passengers at U.S. ports, the Coast Guard
mandates that such ships meet the requirements of the International Convention for the
Safety of Life at Sea (often referred to as SOLAS). SOLAS and other international
regulations set forth rules regarding structural fire protection, firefighting and lifesaving
equipment, watercraft integrity and stability, vessel control, navigation safety, crewing
and crew competency, safety management and environmental protection. To insure
compliance, the Coast Guard conducts a number of ship inspections. Among these
inspections is a control verification examination focusing on structural fire safety and
proper lifesaving equipment that is conducted the first time a ship enters a U.S. port.
QUEEN MARY 2 had made a call in New York earlier in January so she was not
subject to this inspection requirement. However both QUEEN VICTORIA and
QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 were making their first 2008 calls in the U.S. While the
Coast Guard recognized the historic nature of the occasion, the requirements of the
law had to be met. Nonetheless, despite the additional frenzy of press, VIPs, and
sightseers that such events generate, "we finished initial USCG inspection of the
QUEEN VICTORIA [and] an annual inspection was conducted on the QE2" and the
ships were able to embark their passengers and sail in time for the planned festivities.
"The logistics of all our guests disembarking and going off to enjoy themselves in
New York went extremely smoothly and we were helped greatly by all of the
authorities here in New York, by the Coast Guard and by the Customs gentlemen.
And I have to say it has been an incredibly smooth day so far. We have already
embarked our guests for the next voyage," Ms. Marlow was able to say by 3 p.m. on
the day.
QM2 was the first to sail and took up a position just off of the Statue of Liberty.
She was followed by QUEEN VICTORIA, which sailed down the river from Pier 88
with lights ablaze and took up a station to starboard off of QM2's stern. Last to leave
was QE2, which moved majestically past the midtown skyline on the route that she
has traveled so often and halted astern of QUEEN VICTORIA off of lower
Manhattan. Overhead, law enforcement helicopters circled and on the water, Coast
Guard and police vessels kept the numerous dinner cruise and charter boats a
substantial distance from the three liners.
When the ships were assembled, a fireworks display by the famous Grucci family
began. By this time, a cold heavy rain had begun. Still, passengers on the charter
boats and on the ships stood on the open decks to watch. When it was over, the
three ships moved out under the Veranzano Narrows Bridge, discharged their pilots at
Ambrose and dispersed into the darkness on their own itineraries never all to come
together again.
day. It is also not that unusual to have three cruise ships from the same line in New
York at the same time. However, on 13 January 2008, when the three Cunard
Queen-class ocean liners came together in New York it was something altogether
different. "The visit and departure of the QE2, QM2 and the QUEEN VICTORIA
was an impressive and significant event for the international maritime community and
New York City," commented Captain Robert O'Brien, Commander, U.S. Coast
Guard, Sector New York and Captain of the Port of New York.
Cunard Line has a special place in maritime history. In 1840, the British
company began the first regularly scheduled transatlantic passenger service and it is the
only line that continues to provide regular transatlantic service.
While there have been many famous passenger ships on the Atlantic, at the
pinnacle are the first two Cunard Queens: QUEEN MARY of 1936 (81,235 g.r.t.)
and the QUEEN ELIZABETH of 1940 (83,673 g.r.t.). Technologically, these two
1,000-foot ocean liners were a step beyond almost everything of their day. In
addition, they had an unsurpassed reputation for luxury, reliability and service.
Furthermore, with their ability to carry an entire division at speeds over 30 knots,
these two ships played a vital role in World War II. Indeed, Winston Churchill
credited them with shortening the war by a year.
The reputation of the Cunard Queens was further enhanced when QUEEN
ELIZABETH 2 (QE2) (70,327 g.r.t) went into service in 1969. Designed to do both
transatlantic crossings and cruising, QE2 became the world's most famous ship.
Technologically far in advance of her time, QE2 was constantly able to adapt to
changing times over a nearly 40 year history. She was a familiar sight in New York
until 2004 when she was taken off the transatlantic service and stationed in England to
do cruising. Like her predecessors, she too played an indispensable role in wartime,
allowing Great Britain to transport sufficient troops to retake the Falkland Islands from
Argentina in 1982 (See The Log Fall 2005 at p. 10).
While it was presumed for many years that QE2 would be the last ocean liner, in
2004, Cunard put QUEEN MARY 2 (QM2) (151,400 g.r.t) into service doing both
transatlantic crossings and cruises. Currently the world's largest passenger ship in
terms of physical dimensions, QM2 is both fast (30 plus knots) and highly
maneuverable. Just as importantly, she has emerged from the shadow of her famous
fleet-mate with her own style of sophisticated elegance. (See The Log, Winter 2006
at p. 17).
Designed to complement QM2, QUEEN VICTORIA (90,000 g.r.t) is the second
largest Cunard ship ever built in terms of gross tonnage. (See The Log, Summer 2007
at p. 21). Her role will be to do cruises including world cruises. "She was launched
back in December, one month ago. A spectacular naming ceremony - - she was
named by her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla, and her husband, his
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, was also in attendance. We
were delighted to have them for the very first ship naming ever that they have
performed together," said Carol Marlow, President of Cunard Line.
Thus, the Cunard Queens are special ships and when the three remaining Queens
came together in New York on 13 January, it was a special event. "It is not only
special because this is the first time we have had these three ships together, it is special
because it will never happen again. QE2 is leaving our fleet to go on to pastures new
in November of this year and they are not programmed to meet in any other port
between now and then," noted Ms. Marlow.
This event was not a spur of the moment thing. "We plan our programs [ship
itineraries] some 18 months to two years in advance so this has been planned for a
very long time. We put together the schedules and our guests noticed that all of our
Queens would be in New York at the same time and as you can imagine, the sale of
these voyages were very strong," said Ms. Marlow.
"We are delighted to have them all here today in New York because New York is
actually the port that Cunard has been coming to continuously for the longest period of
time. We have come continuously to New York more and for a longer period than
we have for Southampton in England, which is their homeport, but also Liverpool,
which was the home of Cunard in the 1800s. So, this really is a very special place for
us."
The three ships arrived from different directions. QUEEN MARY 2 has adopted
New York as her homeport for the winter, doing a series of New York to the
Caribbean cruises. Consequently, she approached New York from the south.
QUEEN VICTORIA and QE2 had just begun world cruises, the first for the
former and the last for the latter. They came across the Atlantic together weathering
the rough seas that are commonplace this time of the year on that body of water.
Nonetheless, they arrived ahead of schedule to rendezvous with QM2 at Ambrose.
The three ships entered the harbor in the pre-dawn hours. QM2 diverted from the
others and proceeded along Buttermilk Channel to her usual berth in Brooklyn.
QUEEN VICTORIA and QE2 went up the North River to the Passenger Ship
Terminal on the West Side of Manhattan. The new ship berthed at the recently
renovated Pier 88 while QE2 continued to Pier 92.
For the Coast Guard the event presented a number of challenges. "Our primary
concerns were for the security of the ships and facilitating safe transit of other vessels
in the vicinity," Captain O'Brien explained.
"A safety zone was established around the three vessels in New York's Upper
Bay from 1900 until approximately 2030. The zone closed off marine traffic to a large
portion of the upper bay, extending from the mouth of the Hudson River to well south
of the Statue of Liberty. Vessel movements were restricted within this area. This zone
was enforced by a collective group of law enforcement assets including: USCG,
NYPD, New Jersey State Police, and National Park Service vessels. The Coast
Guard Cutter STURGEON BAY acted as the Patrol Commander and coordinated
the effort to successfully complete this mission. Sector New York, with its state and
local law enforcement partners, has a long history of securing major marine events in
New York Harbor."
In addition, there was the question of inspections. As a condition of allowing
foreign-flag passenger vessels to take on passengers at U.S. ports, the Coast Guard
mandates that such ships meet the requirements of the International Convention for the
Safety of Life at Sea (often referred to as SOLAS). SOLAS and other international
regulations set forth rules regarding structural fire protection, firefighting and lifesaving
equipment, watercraft integrity and stability, vessel control, navigation safety, crewing
and crew competency, safety management and environmental protection. To insure
compliance, the Coast Guard conducts a number of ship inspections. Among these
inspections is a control verification examination focusing on structural fire safety and
proper lifesaving equipment that is conducted the first time a ship enters a U.S. port.
QUEEN MARY 2 had made a call in New York earlier in January so she was not
subject to this inspection requirement. However both QUEEN VICTORIA and
QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 were making their first 2008 calls in the U.S. While the
Coast Guard recognized the historic nature of the occasion, the requirements of the
law had to be met. Nonetheless, despite the additional frenzy of press, VIPs, and
sightseers that such events generate, "we finished initial USCG inspection of the
QUEEN VICTORIA [and] an annual inspection was conducted on the QE2" and the
ships were able to embark their passengers and sail in time for the planned festivities.
"The logistics of all our guests disembarking and going off to enjoy themselves in
New York went extremely smoothly and we were helped greatly by all of the
authorities here in New York, by the Coast Guard and by the Customs gentlemen.
And I have to say it has been an incredibly smooth day so far. We have already
embarked our guests for the next voyage," Ms. Marlow was able to say by 3 p.m. on
the day.
QM2 was the first to sail and took up a position just off of the Statue of Liberty.
She was followed by QUEEN VICTORIA, which sailed down the river from Pier 88
with lights ablaze and took up a station to starboard off of QM2's stern. Last to leave
was QE2, which moved majestically past the midtown skyline on the route that she
has traveled so often and halted astern of QUEEN VICTORIA off of lower
Manhattan. Overhead, law enforcement helicopters circled and on the water, Coast
Guard and police vessels kept the numerous dinner cruise and charter boats a
substantial distance from the three liners.
When the ships were assembled, a fireworks display by the famous Grucci family
began. By this time, a cold heavy rain had begun. Still, passengers on the charter
boats and on the ships stood on the open decks to watch. When it was over, the
three ships moved out under the Veranzano Narrows Bridge, discharged their pilots at
Ambrose and dispersed into the darkness on their own itineraries never all to come
together again.
THREE CUNARD QUEENS
MEET
IN NEW YORK HARBOR
By Richard H. Wagner (Originally published by the Navy
League of the United States New York Council, in The Log,
Winter 2007.
MEET
IN NEW YORK HARBOR
By Richard H. Wagner (Originally published by the Navy
League of the United States New York Council, in The Log,
Winter 2007.
Left to right: QE2, QUEEN
VICTORIA and QM2 in New York.
(Photo courtesy of Cunard Line).
VICTORIA and QM2 in New York.
(Photo courtesy of Cunard Line).
Carol Marlow looks on as New York
City Deputy Mayor for Economic
Development and Rebuilding Robert
C. Lieber reads a proclamation
marking the visit of the three
queens to New York.
City Deputy Mayor for Economic
Development and Rebuilding Robert
C. Lieber reads a proclamation
marking the visit of the three
queens to New York.
QUEEN VICTORIA at Pier 88 in
Manhattan.
Manhattan.
Above: QE2 as seen from QUEEN
VICTORIA at Pier 92 in
Manhattan.
Below: QE2 silhouetted against
the lights of New York.
VICTORIA at Pier 92 in
Manhattan.
Below: QE2 silhouetted against
the lights of New York.
Captain Robert O'Brien, USCG,
Captain of the Port of New York.
Captain of the Port of New York.