GE Marine Engines announced that its LM2500+ aeroderivative gas turbine has been selected for use aboard Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 transatlantic liner. The liner will use two GE LM2500+ gas turbine generator sets in a Combined Diesel and Gas Turbine (CODAG) configuration with four diesel engines. Top speed is expected to reach 30 knots. Chantiers de l’Atlantique, St. Nazaire (France) will build the 1,132-foot long, 135-foot wide Queen Mary 2. The liner will be as tall as a 23-story building, will be the most costly passenger ship ever built, with a total estimated cost of $780 million, and will carry 2,620 guests and 1,254 crew.

The 40,500 shaft horsepower LM2500+ is designed to achieve reliability equal to the precedent setting 99.6% reliability of the LM2500. It delivers up to 25% more power at a simple-cycle thermal efficiency in excess of 39%. The turbine’s high efficiency, reliability, and installation flexibility make it ideal for a wide variety of marine power generation and mechanical drive applications.

The 150,000-gross ton Queen Mary 2 will be the first vessel to be propelled by four podded propellers extending beneath the hull. The two forward pods are fixed and the two aft pods are steerable. Tests conducted using a model of this steering system showed the liner will be capable of performing maneuvers in compliance with standards for similar vessels using different propulsion and steering systems. Two sets of stabilizers likewise performed as expected, smoothing the model's motion to create an enviable standard of comfort on board.