The first section of Cunard's newest ship, Queen Anne, was floated at Fincantieri's shipyard in Castellammare di Stabia.
The 116-m block that is due to form the lower forward section of the hull was launched from the slipway, representing the biggest section ever built at the shipyard.
The sound of the siren was heard in many districts of Castellammare di Stabia. The bottle shattered on the hull of the newbuild that slowly slipped into the water. The baptism ritual was greeted with enthusiasm.
The vessel's construction officially started on October 11, 2019, with the steel-cutting ceremony held at Fincantieri's production yard in Castellammare di Stabia (near Naples).
The block will be transported by sea to Monfalcone's Marghera shipyard (Venice), where it is to be assembled with the rest of the cruise ship.
The Bermuda-flagged ship has a final cost of US$600 million.
Cunard's Queen Anne will have a max passenger capacity of 3000 and 13 passenger decks (of which 8 with staterooms).
The liner will be powered by 4 MAK marine diesel engines (model 12V43C) with a combined power output of 50,4 MW. The propulsion system is based on two ABB Azipods (azimuth thrusters) with a combined output of 28 MW.
The liner's name (Queen Anne) was officially announced by Cunard in February 2022. The ship's Master (Inger Klein Thorhauge) and first public areas were announced in March.
Captain Thorhauge is Cunard Line's first female Captain and joined the company in 1997 as Second Officer on MS Vistafjord (1973-built/2017-scrapped as "Oasia", aka "MS Caronia" and "Saga Ruby"). Born in the Faroe Islands, Thorhauge became MS Queen Victoria's Captain in 2010. Queen Anne's Second Captain is David Hudson (with Cunard since 2006).