A small fire broke out in an engine room aboard Cunard's Queen Mary 2 on Wednesday.



Cruises.co.uk member SolentRichard, Lee On Solent was on board whilst the incident occured - he gave his account of what happened:

"The actual time was minutes around 8.00pm and Solent Richard plus wife were 15 minutes into the Senior Officer’s Cocktail Party in the Queens Room, usual glass of champagne in hand, when the first ‘assessment’ broadcast was made.

Within minutes there was another broadcast to summon the crew emergency teams to the scene of the incident. Most officer’s left to attend their stations but the party definitely continued and the pianist continued to play.

By 8.15 the Captain made a broadcast to say that the fire had been in the exhaust lagging of the Gas Turbine and was now safely extinguished. There was an element of the surreal as gusts at the party continued to down champagne while many crew members either busied themselves or began to muster at their ‘stations’ dressed in their life jackets. Waiting staff were soon back at full strength and the party continued till 9.00pm.

By way of a small anecdote, the Entertainment Director, Ray Rouse, joined our group prior to the end of the party with a great one liner: “ First time in 37 years I have worn a life jacket over a DJ”

The whole incident was an pertinent lesson in the calmness and confident manner that the officers and crew conducted themselves in the true traditions of British seafaring. There was never any mention of the passengers needing to return to staterooms to collect their life jackets and no mention of lifeboats." 

The fire was caused by one of the ship's gas turbines -- they augment power to the ship's main quartet of diesel turbines, allowing the ship to travel at a higher maximum speed (some 30 knots).

Eric Flounders, UK spokesman for Cunard confirmed: "Neither passengers nor crew were adversely affected, and neither was the operation of the ship".