Queen Mary Stack Beautification

In 2008, the Queen Mary's funnels were repainted to their original "Cunard Red" color after years of fading in the harsh California sun. An original paint chip was used to get the color just right, which proved to be an astounding success.

Over 120 gallons of paint were used in the process - and an environmentally friendly paint at that. It was created by Richard Hart, a chemist for JFB Hart Coatings Inc. of Chicago, and designed to reduce the level of smog-forming organic compounds in the atmosphere.

"I'm really proud of this job. After all, it's the Queen Mary," said Hart back in 2008.

From what I can tell - three years later - those three iconic smokestacks are still looking great!

References: Louis Sahagun, "Goodbye, old paint: A new coat for the Queen Mary," The Los Angeles Times, November 21, 2008, under Local, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2008/11/goodbye-old-pai.html (accessed September 6, 2011).

Fire Safety

Fire is the worst disaster that a ship can face next to sinking. Increasingly high safety standards have limited the number of accidents, but the threat is still a very real one. Not even a Cunard Queen is immune, as demonstrated by the fiery and tragic demise of the original Queen Elizabeth (which had recently been sold and renamed the SS Seawise University) on January 9, 1972.

Tragedy could have also fallen on her successor, the Queen Elizabeth 2. The new ship had been built according to both British and American safety regulations, which meant that she was extensively fire-proofed and had the best in fire suppression technology. The QE2 was built to be one of the safest ships afloat.

In 1976, an engine room erupted and ultimately knocked out one of the liner's boilers. This forced QE2 to limp back into port at Southampton, where it was clear to all that something had happened. The liner's distinctive white funnel had been blackened as a result of the blaze.

The faulty boiler was eventually replaced and the QE2 resumed her work. Had it not been for her high safety standards, she may have followed her older sister to Valhalla only four years later.



References: David F. Hutchings, QE2: A Ship For All Seasons (Dorset: Waterfront Publications, 1993), 40-41.