Media Platforms Design TeamGENESISPrice Tag: $1.2 billionCompletion Date: 2009Total Length: 1180 feetPassengers: 6400In the cruise ship industry, the battle for bragging rights has turned into a QE2-size slugfest. In 2003, Cunard stole the crown for world’s largest cruise ship when it launched the 151,410-ton Queen Mary 2; three years later Royal Caribbean topped it with the 154,000-ton Freedom of the Seas. Now, Royal Caribbean is set to raise the stakes yet again with the 220,000-ton Genesis, slated to launch in 2009 from a shipyard in Turku, Finland. (A second Genesis will launch a year later.) Why is bigger better? “Having more real estate, we can provide more deck area,” says Royal Caribbean’s Harri Kulovaara. “That means more entertainment options and better amenities.“Make no mistake, Genesis will be no lumbering behemoth. The ship’s three main propellers will swivel 360 degrees on independent bearings. All will be driven by electric motors powered by the ship’s central bank of six diesel generators, and steered by an integrated navigation and control system. From the bridge, the captain will be able to move the ship in any direction — forward, backward, sideways — with the flick of a joystick. No tugboats required.Sizing Up: BoatsKnock NevisMedia Platforms Design Team>Claim to fame Largest ship ever (now retired)Length 1504 feetDisplacement 564,763 tonsLaunched 1981Capacity 4.1 million barrelsEmma MaerskMedia Platforms Design Team>Claim to fame Longest ship (in service)Length 1303 feetDisplacement 156,907 tonsLaunched 2006Capacity 11,000 shipping containersUSS Ronald ReaganMedia Platforms Design Team>Claim to fame Largest warshipLength 1092 feetDisplacement 98,235 tonsLaunched 2003Capacity 85 aircraft and a crew of over 6000Jeff WiseJeff Wise is a New York-based science journalist specializing in aviation and psychology. He is the author of The Plane That Wasn’t There: Why We Haven’t Found MH370.
