Oasis of the Seas: Hull Design

[TITANICLUSITANIA]

RMS Queen Mary 2 might have only 3 bow thrusters, as opposed to MS Oasis of the seas 4 bow thrusters, but keep in mind that the RMS Queen Mary 2 has the largest and most powerful engine ever constructed, therefore she is more powerful than Oasis and Allure. Queen Mary 2 also has her balconies protected against waves, and she can handle those 80ft. waves that you faced even smoother and easier, than Oasis and Allure. Then again this is all because she is an Ocean Liner, and not a cruise ship.

[tupsumato]

@TITANICLUSITANIA, she obviously has more power because she's designed for cruising speed of nearly 30 knots. However, QM2 doesn't have a single engine, but four diesel engines (of the same size as in OotS, 16V46) and two gas turbines. The 21.5 MW Mermaid pods are also a bit more powerful than the 20 MW Azipods in OotS.

Anyway, this ship is not designed for trans-Atlantic crossing, but calm cruising in the Caribbean. So, can we really compare the two?

[TITANICLUSITANIA]

@tupsumato QM2 has the most powerful engine and pods ever constructed. QM2's hull is shaped to also slip faster through the water (The shape of her hull is identical to that of her sister ship QE2) the QM2 has a more efficient wave breaker, which is placed at the bow of the ship it's that weird triangle with cranes, and that breaks 30 meter waves. QM2 obviously is more powerful and efficient than the Oasis, because the Queen was build for the roughest weathers on the planet and Oasis wasn't

[tupsumato]

@TITANICLUSITANIA, stop repeating "the most powerful engine" - the most powerful engine is in that blue container ship. Also, there have been more powerful passenger ships - QM2's mere 157,000 horsepower can not compete with SS United States's 248,000 hp. I do agree with the Mermaid pods, but 1.5 MW difference to the most powerful Azipod currently installed on a ship is not that remarkable.

[tupsumato]

@TITANICLUSITANIA, as for hull shape, I seriously doubt that QM2's hull is "identical" to a ship that was built 40 years ago - they are not sister ships. There are obvious differences such as the bow (bulbous bow vs. traditional bow) and stern (propellers and rudders vs. pods).

I have never heard of this "wave breaker" you speak of.

Anyway, the bottom line is that QM2 is a liner and OotS is a cruise ship. Can they really be compared? How can one say that one is better than the other?

[TITANICLUSITANIA]

@tupsumato QM2's hull is identical to the QE2's hull, like I said it's on discovery channels MegaStructures. You're seriously misguided if you've never heard of the wave breaker. The QM2's wave breaker is identical to that of the SS Normandie wave breaker.

[tupsumato]

@TITANICLUSITANIA, unless someone shows me the lines drawings of the two ships, I refuse to believe that QM2 is based on a ship that's more than 40 years old. Why would they ignore more than four decades worth of hydrodynamical development? Also, the obvious differences between the two ships (bulbous bow, barge stern with pods etc.) point out that QM2 is a recent development instead of a traditional liner design. It may resemble it here and there, but it has nothing to do with the actual design.

[tupsumato]

@TITANICLUSITANIA, as for "wave breaker", I'm not familiar with the term and could not find any information with Google. Could you explain what they are?

[TITANICLUSITANIA]

@tupsumato Yes it does, Like I told you Stephen Payne said on discovery channel that he designed it based on the QE2 and you can find it all over the web, as for the "wave breaker" it's that weird triangle located at the bow of the ship, the one with the cranes on top of it, it's exactly the same as that of the Normandie. It's written in the Captains Log website, as well as in MegaStructures.

[tupsumato]

@TITANICLUSITANIA, ah, now I understand what you mean by "wave breaker". I was looking for some weird appendage in the hull of the ship instead of something on the deck. It definitely looks useful for a ship that maintains a high speed in heavy seas - cruise ships don't do that so they don't have them.

I'd pick an X-bow for the high seas, though ;)

[TITANICLUSITANIA]

@tupsumato I know cruise ships don't, that's why Ocean Liners hull are made to be by far more efficient than cruise ships, since they cross heavier seas. QE2's shaped bow worked very well throughout her entire carrier. It's working well for QM2 so........

[tupsumato]

@TITANICLUSITANIA, I wouldn't say that QE2 and QM2 have many things in common when it comes to bow design - there might be some resemblance, but hydrodynamically they are quite different, the bulbous bow being the most obvious difference.

Also, I'd say every shipbuilder aims for the most efficient design, so I don't think a newer ship designed in the country with most know-how regarding shipbuilding is that much "less efficient"...

[TITANICLUSITANIA]

@tupsumato QM2 and QE2 have the same bow design, except the bulbous bow, QM2 has the longest one ever, anyhow the bow design was based on the QE2's and you can find it all over the net. It doesn't matter how old or new the ship is, what matters is the design and the tough put into designing the ship. QM2 was made with a lot of thought and took many things already established by passed liners, and they got implemented on the Queen. You can look it up, unless you refuse to leave your shell.

[tupsumato]

@TITANICLUSITANIA, I stand corrected regarding the QM2's bow - I found a credible document saying that it was modeled after QE2's as the old design was found suitable for Atlantic service. Of course it was considerably enlarged and the bulbous bow was added, so I wouldn't say they are identical or that it was just copied from the old ship.

I think the design could still be improved, but that would ruin the classic liner look. STX had a pretty nice on in one of their ads...

[TITANICLUSITANIA]

@tupsumato Well, I don't think QM2 needs any redesigning, she can handle the seas better than any other ship obviously because she's an Ocean Liner, but I do think Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria could use the improvements, since she is based off of a vista class ship, and even though their hull is thicker than that of a cruise ship, the design it self of the ship should be remade, the only Ocean Liner characteristics QE and QV have are the thick hull and the decor that's all.......

[tupsumato]

@TITANICLUSITANIA, neither do I, but if they started building new liners, they could use some of those improved designs such as the X-bow and the STX concept which had a very high forecastle and a sloping superstructure extending to the bow, a bit like some of those new PSVs... However, I don't think that we'll see a second golden age of liners.

[tupsumato]

@TITANICLUSITANIA, you seem to mention hull thickness quite often. While the liners might have a longer fatigue life than regular cruise ships, I don't think the hull plating is that much thicker than in normal passenger ships - perhaps a millimeter or two here and there. More than that it would just increase weight without significant strength gains - it's better to reduce frame spacing to increase the strength of the ship.

Does QM2 have an ice class?

[TITANICLUSITANIA]

@tupsumato Second Golden Age Of Ocean Liners is actually happening, with QM2, QV, and QE ruling the seas, that's why the royal rendevous with them was such a big hype recently. QM2 has an extra thick hull, thicker than cruise ships, you can look that up too if you'd want to leave your shell. Millimeters isn't enough, QM2 hull thickness is by far greater than that of cruise ships, it is also stated on the YouTube Video building QM2 that she required double the amount of steal to make.

[tupsumato]

@TITANICLUSITANIA, I wouldn't call one "true" liner and two slightly modified cruise ships, all owned by the same company, "the second golden age of ocean liners". It's also not about numbers, but about the market in general.

I know that QM2 has a stronger hull, but what I meant is that it's not an inch thicker than in other ships - perhaps where a normal cruise ship has 10 mm plating, QM2 has 15 to 20 mm or so. I wonder how it would compare to e.g. Baltic cruiseferries...

[TITANICLUSITANIA]

@tupsumato Well Cunard is the only one producing Ocean Liners, therefore everyone agrees the second age of ocean travel is taking place. If you don't want to look at it that way well that's your opinion. QE and QV are modified cruise ships. You don't know anything, what you're saying is completely wrong, the sources say QM2 has a hull twice as thick as those installed on cruise ships, so if a normal cruise ship has 10mm plating QM2 has 20mm Plating. You can look it all up.

[tupsumato]

@TITANICLUSITANIA, anyone could order an ocean liner and most shipyards could build them, but so far Cunard has been the only one willing to pay the extra for owning and operating them. I won't call it the second golden age before they become mainstream again.

[tupsumato]

@TITANICLUSITANIA, I read about the hull thickness being twice as thick as in normal cruise ships, but I'd still like to see some actual numbers - I found couple of websites claiming that the hull plating is only 10 millimeters thick while on another someone claimed to have read about 28 mm in the bow. Someone calling her "SS Queen Mary 2" even claimed the hull to be 2 inches thick, but I'm quite sure that's bullshit. Most just say it's thicker, extra thick, super thick et cetera.

[TITANICLUSITANIA]

@tupsumato Cunard, and Chantiers de l' Atlantique only said she would be build with the hull 2 times thicker than that of a cruise ship, obviously because she must endure the heavy seas, where as cruise ships only must endure quieter waters, if you will, so the cruise ship company's spend less money and reduce the hull thickness as they won't need a thick one. Well Cunard New York and most of the rest of the world call it the second age of ocean travel, if you don't well that's your opinion.

[TITANICLUSITANIA]

@tupsumato QM2 steel plating thickness varies in size, the book about QM2 states it's 28mm thick as well as the Genesis of a Queen by Chantiers de 'Atlantique also said the same thing, and they also stated QM2 is the only ship since QE2 to be designed to withstand 40 years of being hit by Atlantic waters while running at high speeds.

[tupsumato]

@TITANICLUSITANIA, I also found several references for 28 mm in parts of the hull, so I stand corrected - for cruise ships the maximum plating thickness is usually around 15-20 mm, and even that's only in some parts of the hull - the side plating might be even less than 10 mm depending on the construction.

I calculated a minimum plating thickness of 25 mm for the keel plate of Oasis of the Seas assuming NV-NS steel, but it's probably ~20 mm since I'm quite sure they used high-strength steel.

[TITANICLUSITANIA]

@tupsumato Nonetheless, QM2 is build to handle the waves better than any other ship, because she is an Ocean Liner, that has traveled through some of the most dangerous passages on the planet, such as Cape Horn.

[tupsumato]

@TITANICLUSITANIA, I also read about the 40-year fatigue life and how the design sagging wave-bending moment is around 22 % greater than the current IACS requirement. That definitely requires more steel to keep the longitudinal strength at sufficient level.

Anyway, I wonder how the hull thickness of QM2 compares to other passenger ships than Caribbean cruisers. I bet ships like Finnjet also had a lot of extra steel, at least according to the shipbreaker...

[TITANICLUSITANIA]

I would say you have one of the most efficient hull in the world, and the most efficient on a cruise ship, however I say RMS Queen Mary 2's hull is more efficient than MS Oasis and Allure of the seas, because she is an Ocean Liner, her hull is thicker than your ship's hull, the bulbous bow is longer, she has a hybrid hull of the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 and SS Normandie, and the shape of her hull helps her move faster through the Ocean, as well as a deeper draft.

[tupsumato]

@TITANICLUSITANIA, it's very hard to compare the hull efficiency of the ships since they are quite different - if we knew all particulars, we could calculate some speed-power -graphs and see which one has better. However, I wouldn't claim that being an ocean liner affects much to the efficiency - saving fuel is just as important in cruise business.

Also, QE2 and Normandie are _ancient_. Thus, it's impossible that there's any connection between this ship and them.

[TITANICLUSITANIA]

@tupsumato QM2 was designed based on the QE2 and the SS Normandie (Considered by historians to be the best ocean liner ever). Ocean Liners are built to be stronger than cruise ships, esp. QM2, her hull is twice ticker than any cruise ships hull, QM2 has the most powerful engine ever constructed on a ship. Watch QM2 in megastructures, or any other documentary, it explains why QM2 is more efficient than other ships.

[4freespeech]

That's all the DRAFT that sucker's got, with that massive BULK above

the freeboard?

How would it ever keep from capsizing, (rolling over) in heavy seas?

[tupsumato]

@4freespeech, keep in mind that the "massive bulk" consists mainly of high-strength steel, aluminium and empty space while the heavy stuff such as engines, propellers and fuel tanks is below waterline. While the ship may look top heavy, it's not.

[albionsseed]

Impressive engineering, but my God is it ugly. The Marine Architects should be keel hauled.

[6120tf]

なんて大きさだ！！！

[tupsumato]

Considering the fact that Wilhelm Gustloff was carrying, according to some sources, over 10 000 passengers when it sank... A lot.

[ZeroGal5]

it's nice to know you guys are in better weather. thanks for posting this!