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It seems that QM2 (sorry for remarking) has fire risk problems, and additional sprinkles and smoke detectors have to be installed in 1300 (!) cabins.
Too much material in the cabins is inflammable.
BTW, whose responsability is this : the yard, designer or Cunard.
Anyhow interesting that the most technically modern liner has problems with regulations - are all the other ships conform the regulations???
J.
The Maritime & Coastguard Agency states:-"The MCA is satisfied that passenger safety is not compromised.
Meanwhile, the MCA will continue to work closely with Cunard, Lloyd?s Register and the yard in order to find an efficient technical solution which helps to ensure that passengers continue to travel in safety. Cunard has already agreed to immediately install locally sounding smoke alarms and to commence an urgent programme of additional sprinklers."
Full MCA report here.
The cabin alarms have already proved their worth in detecting a bathroom fire. On our trip a member of the band? left his razor plugged in during a storm, which fell off into the toilet & started a fire, the alarm was raised & dealt with, but maybe this is what someone reported to the BBC to investigate?
Pam
I always leave my razor plugged in. It is a battery recharge type. Just as one always leaves one's cellphone plugged in.
OK, now comes a storm. The razor falls into the toilet (says something about cabin configuration here, does it not?).
Does the razor catch fire?? How?
Does the toilet catch fire? Even more mysterious..
Or does something else catch fire.
I can see Arson Inspector Cluseau with a magnifying glass saying....."Hmm the razor fell into the toilet and thus caused the ???? to burn!"
Methinks there is more here than meets the eye. PamM this is the real germ of another mystery posting.
Jochen
quote:Originally posted by Cambodge:PamM; I be confused here. I always leave my razor plugged in. It is a battery recharge type. Just as one always leaves one's cellphone plugged in.OK, now comes a storm. The razor falls into the toilet (says something about cabin configuration here, does it not?).Does the razor catch fire?? How?Does the toilet catch fire? Even more mysterious..Or does something else catch fire.I can see Arson Inspector Cluseau with a magnifying glass saying....."Hmm the razor fell into the toilet and thus caused the ???? to burn!"Methinks there is more here than meets the eye. PamM this is the real germ of another mystery posting.
When the razor falls into the toilet, it causes a short circuit or surge of electricity that travels back up the cord and the fire starts back at the where the razor is plugged into the wall.
quote: I can see Arson Inspector Clouseau with a magnifying glass saying....."Hmm the razor fell into the toilet and thus caused the ???? to burn!"
Perhaps the BBC has suffered the "bimb" to the head!
...KenH
[ 06-24-2004: Message edited by: KenH ]
quote:Originally posted by CGT:Hmm, I just now saw the BBC news report on the BBC World television channel. The bathroom units *do* seem to ignite quite easily.
Perhaps they should try the same tests on the bathroom modules of other ships, new and old. Does the Beeb really think QM2 is the only ship where the plastic in question has been used? Shoddy journalism.
Brian
quote:Originally posted by Cambodge:PamM; The razor falls into the toilet (says something about cabin configuration here, does it not?).
The question is: Will the husband rue the day he didn't listen to his wife's repeated admonishment to always put the toilet seat cover down after use?
Whene there is news about QM2 it will be news. Also the negativ news about this to overated vessel. the problem is at Cunard and Carnival. They have a massif PR around QM2. Such amound that many would not lissen anymore to new press releases.
Now there are some problems with fire safety a/b ship it's not surprising that the press in this case BBC would jump on it. And make it a big story.
This is the result off the overwelming PR about the ship.
At last whene there is realy a big problem the vessel would not be aloud to sail with passengers, before everting was oke. Specialy the tight American ship safty laws (very good regulation i believe) would have forbidden American passengers to travel with QM2.
[ 06-25-2004: Message edited by: Maasdam ]
Apparently the QM2 is arriving tonight in Southampton and Cunard has to do emergency work on the sprinklers in some hours, so the ship could leave for her next voyage. The work shouldn't be too difficult, as there are already sprinklers in the cabins.
Every passenger has received a letter, stating the ship is safe.
Fire patrols have been increased.
It seems the problem has been raised by the Czech manufacturer of the materials, of which 65 tons (65000kilos) is on board..
Maasdam is right when he says that when you hype a ship so much, any news becomes interesting news, certainly when it is about "fire hazards", everybodies fear on board ship,and becomes sensational.
Also it wasn't really a wild accusation by the BBC, but statement of fact, as it was clearly from the first that cunard had accepted that there was a problem, and they were doing something about it.
But it is strange that especially the bathroom becomes a fire hazard, I always thought it, with all that water, and metal and glass, to be the most fireproof place of a cabin/appartment.
quote: Queen Mary 2 Gets Safety Upgrade Less than six months after she entered service, Cunard's Queen Mary 2 is having her safety systems upgraded after a British regulator found that the ship had failed a safety test. In the test, conducted by the UK-based Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), it was discovered that a fire-retardant material used in the bathrooms on the French-built passenger ship did not fully meet fire regulation standards. In announcing the findings last week, MCA however stressed that "...the material under consideration is in a normally low-risk wet area of the cabin, and that the vessel already has a highly efficient sprinkler system throughout its passenger accommodation." MCA went on to say that it was satisfied that passenger safety had not been compromised. MCA said that it was first informed of the potential problem by the British Broadcasting Corp (BBC) after the television company had been contacted by a supplier of bathroom units to the ship. Responding to the MCA announcement, Cunard parent company Carnival noted that the material in question had complied with all regulations before the ship was launched in January and that no problems had been reported. Never-the-less, Cunard said that it had decided to install new smoke alarms in all cabins and increase fire patrols. The work to install the new smoke alarms started at 6:00 am last Friday after the $800 million ocean liner arrived at her home port of Southampton from New York. It was completed by 6:00 pm that evening and Queen Mary 2 was able to depart on schedule. Cunard also said that it would be extending the cabin sprinkler system into the bathrooms themselves and replacing the front panel of the bathroom vanity unit. Due to the more comprehensive nature of the sprinkler work Cunard said that it would have to be carried out over a longer schedule. During a conference call with reporters last week, Peter Ratcliffe, executive director at Carnival Corporation, said "We've advised the MCA of our action. They are happy and satisfied that passenger safety is not compromised. We appreciate the assistance of the MCA in helping us to deal with this issue in a prompt and expeditious manner."
Less than six months after she entered service, Cunard's Queen Mary 2 is having her safety systems upgraded after a British regulator found that the ship had failed a safety test. In the test, conducted by the UK-based Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), it was discovered that a fire-retardant material used in the bathrooms on the French-built passenger ship did not fully meet fire regulation standards.
In announcing the findings last week, MCA however stressed that "...the material under consideration is in a normally low-risk wet area of the cabin, and that the vessel already has a highly efficient sprinkler system throughout its passenger accommodation." MCA went on to say that it was satisfied that passenger safety had not been compromised. MCA said that it was first informed of the potential problem by the British Broadcasting Corp (BBC) after the television company had been contacted by a supplier of bathroom units to the ship.
Responding to the MCA announcement, Cunard parent company Carnival noted that the material in question had complied with all regulations before the ship was launched in January and that no problems had been reported. Never-the-less, Cunard said that it had decided to install new smoke alarms in all cabins and increase fire patrols.
The work to install the new smoke alarms started at 6:00 am last Friday after the $800 million ocean liner arrived at her home port of Southampton from New York. It was completed by 6:00 pm that evening and Queen Mary 2 was able to depart on schedule. Cunard also said that it would be extending the cabin sprinkler system into the bathrooms themselves and replacing the front panel of the bathroom vanity unit. Due to the more comprehensive nature of the sprinkler work Cunard said that it would have to be carried out over a longer schedule.
During a conference call with reporters last week, Peter Ratcliffe, executive director at Carnival Corporation, said "We've advised the MCA of our action. They are happy and satisfied that passenger safety is not compromised. We appreciate the assistance of the MCA in helping us to deal with this issue in a prompt and expeditious manner."
Joe at TravelPage.com
quote:Originally posted by Stevesan:Enough of this slamming the BBC!!! Any network that can produce shows like "Coupling" and "The Office" deserves naught but praise. All Hail mighty BBC America!
BBC America is such a piece of crap. Endless blocks of "Ground Force" and "Changing Rooms" over and over again, and "Life Laundry" plus Americanized watered down versions of "Faking it" (a good show when not Americanized) from Channel 4. All the while they cut down on the news, and other good BBC news and talk shows, and show very old British sitcoms over and over again. Now it's endless makeover shows. "The Office" and "Coupling" are good, but I canceled my subscription to BBC America long ago. It's too bad. I like the BBC, but BBC America is crap!
[ 06-29-2004: Message edited by: CGT ]
Onno
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quote:Burnishing shipping imageBy DAVID HUGHES June 30, 2004 LAST week it emerged that material used in a bathroom wall and under-basin fascia within the bathroom unit on board various passenger cabins on the Queen Mary 2 (QM2) had failed tests for fire retardant qualities.That, you might think, would hardly constitute major news. But such is the public interest in the vessel that the story was carried quite prominently in the UK press and the international news wires.Now the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) publicly accepted that the problem was not serious. The MCA emphasised straightaway: 'It has to be stressed that the material under consideration is in a normally low-risk wet area of the cabin and that the vessel already has a highly efficient sprinkler system throughout its passenger accommodation. The MCA is satisfied that passenger safety is not compromised.'Nevertheless, the matter drew unwelcome attention to the vessel. Bad news about a big cruise liner is regarded as being newsworthy, the more so if the ship in question is the QM2.In this case there was an additional factor. Just days before the fire safety problem entered the public domain, the Cunard flagship was feted as a glowing example of the sort of image shipping needs to project to the world.At last week's IMO ceremony, ICCL and Cunard presented a QM2 replica model, and a cheque for US$10,000 towards a newly created International Search and Rescue Fund, to the UN agency's secretary-general Efthimios Mitropoulos.Ironically, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the International Council of Cruise Lines staged a presentation of QM2 ship model last Monday which had received no attention in the general press. The media did, however, latch on to news late last week that the ship had a safety problem.Carnival's executive director Peter Ratcliffe was unfazed by the negative publicity. He said that the cost of taking quick action, including installing locally sounding smoke alarms and fitting additional sprinklers as well as removing vanity units in the bathrooms while the ship was in New York was costing the company 'less than half a million dollars'.Shrugging off the negative publicity, he said: 'We are not embarrassed by this. A company's reputation is based on how it deals with problems that can arise. It's business as usual.'A few days before, while accepting the model, Mr Mitropoulos had referred to the QM2 as a 'a symbol for all that is excellent in shipping today'. Given what was to happen a few days later Mr Mitropoulos' words now seem particularly ironic. He said: 'I find it grossly unfair that, when something goes wrong in shipping, politicians and the public are quick to criticise and condemn, whereas, when great things happen in the industry, such as the safe and clean delivery of goods by sea in their overwhelming majority or the arrival of beautiful ships such as the QM2, they mostly go unnoticed.'He concluded: 'I, therefore, believe that the time has come for us to work together, more systematically than ever before, to make politicians and the public aware of the credit shipping rightly deserves.' His words, of course, went unreported outside the shipping press.The industry has been worried about its image for many years. Several of shipping's representative organisations have gone to considerable lengths to try increase public understanding of the industry. The tanker owners' body Intertanko has tried hard in this respect although it has had an uphill struggle as any gains are quickly swept away by the publicity surrounding big tanker spills. Greece's shipping-supported environmental organisation Helmepa has, however, made some considerable impact on the public perception of shipping. It does have one big advantage. The Greek public is probably, because of the country's geography, more maritime-minded than most.Since taking office, Mr Mitropoulos has made improving the public image of shipping a major priority, hence the QM2 presentation. Unfortunately, this first big attempt at publicity proved a working example of how difficult it is. Despite the presence of a UK government minister, top shipping names and the well-known captain of the QM2, the press simply didn't want to know. There were no TV cameras and no general press reporters.So, should Mr Mitropoulos and the rest of the shipping industry give up? The answer has got to be 'no'. Shipping is important and needs to get good, as well as the occasional and inevitable bad, publicity.To achieve that shipping - governments, organisations and companies have - must focus on building up relationships with the general media. Shipping events are generally covered by the shipping press and so go completely unnoticed by most of the world. Exactly how the media can be made to love shipping is a tricky question. But we do need to find the answer and stop pretending that publicity within the trade press is, well, publicity. Shipping Times
LAST week it emerged that material used in a bathroom wall and under-basin fascia within the bathroom unit on board various passenger cabins on the Queen Mary 2 (QM2) had failed tests for fire retardant qualities.
That, you might think, would hardly constitute major news. But such is the public interest in the vessel that the story was carried quite prominently in the UK press and the international news wires.
Now the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) publicly accepted that the problem was not serious. The MCA emphasised straightaway: 'It has to be stressed that the material under consideration is in a normally low-risk wet area of the cabin and that the vessel already has a highly efficient sprinkler system throughout its passenger accommodation. The MCA is satisfied that passenger safety is not compromised.'
Nevertheless, the matter drew unwelcome attention to the vessel. Bad news about a big cruise liner is regarded as being newsworthy, the more so if the ship in question is the QM2.
In this case there was an additional factor. Just days before the fire safety problem entered the public domain, the Cunard flagship was feted as a glowing example of the sort of image shipping needs to project to the world.
At last week's IMO ceremony, ICCL and Cunard presented a QM2 replica model, and a cheque for US$10,000 towards a newly created International Search and Rescue Fund, to the UN agency's secretary-general Efthimios Mitropoulos.
Ironically, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the International Council of Cruise Lines staged a presentation of QM2 ship model last Monday which had received no attention in the general press. The media did, however, latch on to news late last week that the ship had a safety problem.
Carnival's executive director Peter Ratcliffe was unfazed by the negative publicity. He said that the cost of taking quick action, including installing locally sounding smoke alarms and fitting additional sprinklers as well as removing vanity units in the bathrooms while the ship was in New York was costing the company 'less than half a million dollars'.
Shrugging off the negative publicity, he said: 'We are not embarrassed by this. A company's reputation is based on how it deals with problems that can arise. It's business as usual.'
A few days before, while accepting the model, Mr Mitropoulos had referred to the QM2 as a 'a symbol for all that is excellent in shipping today'. Given what was to happen a few days later Mr Mitropoulos' words now seem particularly ironic. He said: 'I find it grossly unfair that, when something goes wrong in shipping, politicians and the public are quick to criticise and condemn, whereas, when great things happen in the industry, such as the safe and clean delivery of goods by sea in their overwhelming majority or the arrival of beautiful ships such as the QM2, they mostly go unnoticed.'
He concluded: 'I, therefore, believe that the time has come for us to work together, more systematically than ever before, to make politicians and the public aware of the credit shipping rightly deserves.' His words, of course, went unreported outside the shipping press.
The industry has been worried about its image for many years. Several of shipping's representative organisations have gone to considerable lengths to try increase public understanding of the industry. The tanker owners' body Intertanko has tried hard in this respect although it has had an uphill struggle as any gains are quickly swept away by the publicity surrounding big tanker spills. Greece's shipping-supported environmental organisation Helmepa has, however, made some considerable impact on the public perception of shipping. It does have one big advantage. The Greek public is probably, because of the country's geography, more maritime-minded than most.
Since taking office, Mr Mitropoulos has made improving the public image of shipping a major priority, hence the QM2 presentation. Unfortunately, this first big attempt at publicity proved a working example of how difficult it is. Despite the presence of a UK government minister, top shipping names and the well-known captain of the QM2, the press simply didn't want to know. There were no TV cameras and no general press reporters.
So, should Mr Mitropoulos and the rest of the shipping industry give up? The answer has got to be 'no'. Shipping is important and needs to get good, as well as the occasional and inevitable bad, publicity.
To achieve that shipping - governments, organisations and companies have - must focus on building up relationships with the general media. Shipping events are generally covered by the shipping press and so go completely unnoticed by most of the world. Exactly how the media can be made to love shipping is a tricky question. But we do need to find the answer and stop pretending that publicity within the trade press is, well, publicity.
Shipping Times
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