On 29 April Cunard reached a milestone in the building of Queen Anne, with the successful launch of the forward lower section of the ship, also known as the troncone.
The troncone launch ceremony is a traditional custom that celebrates a ship being transferred from land to water for the first time and as the troncone slid down the inclined slipway, a bottle of sparkling wine was swung and smashed against her hull for good luck.
As we celebrate Queen Anne’s maiden season going on sale this month, here’s a sneak peek of the launch itself;
Queen Anne’s troncone measures 541 feet (165 metres) long, 117 feet (35.6 metres) wide and weighs 12,402 tons (11,251 tonnes). That’s a big part of Queen Anne’s build and an important section to be tested as she is sailed by tugboats through the Messina Strait, a narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily (Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria (Punta Pezzo) in Southern Italy. Queen Anne will complete her assisted journey arriving at Fincantieri’s Marghera, Venice shipyard, where the build for this distinctive ship will be completed.
If you’d like to discover more of Cunard’s newest Queen on the lead up to her 2024 launch, visit Cunard.com