QE2 Facts

Queen Elizabeth 2 in Auckland 2003

General Information

  • Name: Queen Elizabeth 2.
  • Gross Tonnage (As built) : 65 863 tons.
  • Gross Tonnage (1994 – ) : 70 327 tons.
  • Decks: 12 passenger decks.
  • Length: 963 feet.
  • Width: 105 feet, 2 inches.
  • Builders: John Brown (later Upper Clyde).
  • Keel Laid: 5th July, 1965.
  • Launched : 20th September, 1967.
  • Launched By: HM Queen Elizabeth II.
  • Maiden Voyage: Dep. 2nd May, 1969.
  • Final Cunard Voyage: Dep. 11 Nov, 2008.
  • Maximum Passenger Capacity: 1,777 persons.
  • Standard Crew Capacity: 1,040 persons.
  • Port of Registry (Cunard): Southampton, UK.
  • Port of Registry (Istithmar): Port Vila, Vanuatu.
  • Official Number (Cunard): 336703
  • Signal Letters (Cunard): G.B.T.T.
  • Fastest Passenger Ship (in service): 1969 – 2008.
  • Maximum Speed Achieved: 34 knots.

Engine Room (1987-2008)

  • Diesel Engines: 9 x 9 Cylinder (Turbo-Charged) Diesel.
  • Diesel Builders: MAN B&W, Augsburg, West Germany.
  • Electric Motors: 2 x 350 tons, one on each propeller shaft.
  • Fuel consumption: 18.05 tons per hour on 9 diesels.
  • Boilers: 9x Exhaust Gas. 2x Oil Fired.
  • Output at Propellers: 2 x 44 MW.
  • Propellers: 2x outward turning LIPS Controllable Pitch.
  • Bow thrusters: 2 stone kamewa, 1000 h.p. per unit.
  • Stabilisers: 4 Denny Brown.
  • Rudder weight: 80 tons.
  • Forward Anchors : 2 at 12 1/2 tons.
  • Cables: 2 at 4″ x 12 shackles.
  • Aft Anchor: 1 at 7 1/4 tons.
  • Cables: 1 at 3″ x 8 shackles.

Engine Room (1968-1986)

  • 3 × Foster Wheeler ESD II Boilers.
  • 2x Brown-Pametrada Steam Turbines.
  • 1x clean steam boiler to supply steam to the steamers in the kitchens.
  • 2x six bladed propellers.
  • Bow thrusters: 2 stone kamewa, 1000 h.p. per unit.
  • Stabilisers: 4 Denny Brown.
  • Rudder weight: 80 tons.
  • Forward Anchors : 2 at 12 1/2 tons.
  • Cables: 2 at 4″ x 12 shackles.
  • Aft Anchor: 1 at 7 1/4 tons.
  • Cables: 1 at 3″ x 8 shackles.

Some fun QE2 Facts

  • The Atlantic service speed of QE2 is 28.5 knots, with a top cruising speed of 32.5 knots.
  • QE2 is the fastest passenger ship to sail in the 21st century.
  • Top recorded speed of QE2 was 34 knots during her 1987 sea trials.
  • In 2008, QE2 was sold for $100 million to Istithmar, the investment arm of Dubai World.
  • Queen Elizabeth 2’s launch was celebrated with a public holiday in many countries of the Commonwealth.
  • QE2 was the longest serving flagship of the Cunard Line and the longest serving Cunard Ocean Liner.
  • QE2 had 20 lifeboats and 54 life rafts.
  • QE2 is the last Atlantic Ocean Liner to be built in the United Kingdom.
  • She made 806 transatlantic Crossings.
  • She sailed 5.6 million miles – the furthest distance by any ship, ever!
  • She carried 2.5 million passengers in Cunard service.
  • Queen Elizabeth 2’s anchors weigh 12.5 tons each and there are three of them – 2 forward and 1 aft.

Is QE2 bigger than Titanic?

Yes: QE2 is larger than Titanic. At 963ft long, she longer than Titanic which was only 882.5ft long. QE2 is also wider, taller and faster than Titanic with a cruising speed some 7-8 knots faster than Titanic. While QE2 is much larger than Titanic, she carried less passengers than Titanic, with QE2 able to transport a maximum of 1,777 passengers and Titanic 2,435.

What’s the difference between QE2 and QM2?

By the time QM2 entered service in 2004 the QE2 had been at sea for over 30 years. So how did the two ships differ?

  • In 2008 when she retired, QE2 had a gross tonnage of 70,327, while QM2 has an internal volume of 149,215 gross tons.
  • The QE2 is 963 feet long and 105 feet, 2 inches wide, while the QM2 is 1,132 feet long and 135 feet wide (147.5 feet at the bridge wings).
  • QE2 carried 1,777 passengers while the QM2 carries 2,695.
  • QE2 has 10 passenger decks and two crew decks with select areas accessible to passengers, while QM2 has 13 passenger accessible decks.
  • QM2 is far taller than QE2, owing to her having double height decks on Deck 2 and Deck 3.
  • QM2 is a beautiful ship. But QE2 was far prettier to look at. This isn’t just my opinion, it was widely held among the public until QE2’s retirement in 2008. In fact, check out the sign from the Sydney Water Taxis in 2007. It was on display after QM2 sailed from Sydney leaving the QE2 as the lone Cunarder in the port for that day.

Image: QE2 in Auckland during a World Cruise. Frame & Cross.