Why is Queen Mary 2 being built in a French shipyard?
Several yards were invited to submit tenders with the final two yards in the selection process being Alstom Chantiers de lAtlantique in St Nazaire and Harland & Wolff in Belfast. Cunard was predisposed to select a British yard but despite negotiations, Harland & Wolff remained substantially more expensive. In addition, Harland & Wolff were not able to build the entire ship and would have been forced to tow the hull to another yard for fitting out, adding to both the time and expense.
