Carnival sues Rolls-Royce over QM2 pod problems

Carnival Corp, parent of Cunard Line, is suing propulsion system specialists’ Rolls-Royce/Converteam for US $100m over ongoing problems with the Mermaid podded propulsion system used propel QM2.

In a law suite filed in Florida last week, carnival alleges ‘fraud and conspiracy.’ Carnival is looking to recover mullions of $s in damages to compensate for repair costs and other losses incurred by ongoing propulsion with the ship’s four main propulsion pods.

Carnival claims that the pod system never performed as promised and further alleges that Rolls-Royce/Converteam are guilty of ‘fraudulent and conspirational’ acts. QM2 has been plagued by propulsion pod problems ever since being delivered by the then Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire in 2004. She is the first cruise ship to be powered by four propulsion pods; two fixed units and two azimuthing pods.

Carnival says that Rolls-Royce and Converteam knew that each time they pretended to fix a failed pod it would, in fact, break down again because in reality they had no solution whatsoever for the complex design and manufacturing defects plaguing the Mermaids installed on QM2, nor did they want to incur the cost of undertaking a complete redesign.

The problems with QM2’s pods relate to the lifetime of the bearings in each pod. Rolls-Royce/Converteam claim that each bearing should have a service life of between 15 and 20 years. In reality, says Carnival, Cunard is changing bearing every three years.

Commenting on the pod problems, Mickey Arison, chairman of Carnival said: ‘It will be very embarrassing to Rolls-Royce if this is not resolved. And expensive.’

This is not the first time that Mermaid pods have had problems with cruise ships. RCCL sued Rolls-Royce for problems with the pods on Celebrity’s four Millennium-class vessels. Sphere: Related Content