The scope of the catering system being supplied by MacGREGOR Passenger Ship division for Queen Mary 2 now encompasses provisions stores, refrigeration machinery and cooling distribution systems, galleys, bars, pantries and refrigerated counters

MacGREGOR has won an order to supply and install an outfit of provisions stores on Cunard prestigious Queen Mary 2 newbuilding, the final element in a complete catering system being supplied by the Group Passenger Ship division which has aready contracted to supply and install galleys, bars, pantries, refrigerated counters, refrigeration machinery and cooling distribution systems.

The 150,000gt Queen Mary 2 was contracted in November 2000 from the French shipyard of Chantiers de lAtlantique by Cunard parent Carnival Corporation, and is scheduled for delivery in late 2003. MacGREGOR installation work will be carried out over 10 to 12 months.

Provisions stores

MacGREGOR is supplying all 67 cold store rooms on Queen Mary 2, spread over nine decks and occupying a floor area of 2,057m². This is by far the biggest project we have ever had for cold stores, said area sales manager Christian Mellet. To give an idea of the scale involved, provisions stores outfits that we have installed on recent cruise ship deliveries from Chantiers de lAtlantique comprised about 20 rooms occupying some 800m².

Queen Mary 2 cold stores are of three different types:

• main cold stores area (29 rooms occupying 1,557m²)
• walk-in cold stores and cold stores in the galley area (35 rooms occupying 359m²)
• dry stores (three rooms occupying 141m²).

MacGREGOR new A-60 rated fire doors will be fitted to around 60 to 70 per cent of the cold store rooms. These hinged or sliding doors fully comply with both fire and insulation requirements in a single unit, eliminating the need to fit two adjacent doors to provide fire protection and temperature insulation. Installation costs are therefore reduced, and personnel access to the stores is much improved.

Refrigeration machinery

The Queen Mary 2 contract is also MacGREGOR largest order yet for refrigeration machinery. The package comprises brine chiller units, brine pumps, air coolers, piping networks and a control and monitoring system. The plant will cool brine to some 60 cold rooms, 300 catering consumers and also some 20 fan coils as a back-up system for air-conditioning technical rooms. In total about 9,000m of insulated pipes will be used to circulate the brine solution throughout the ship. The piping system is divided in three networks: one at -33°C, one at -10°C and one at +5°C.

An indirect cooling system using brine was selected by Carnival for environmental reasons. The alternative direct expansion system would have required several tonnes of Freon refrigerant in the piping system running throughout the ship. A system that uses a secondary fluid (brine) circulating in the pipe network reduces the refrigerant charge and minimises the risk of refrigerant leaks.

At the heart of the system are four brine chiller units with screw compressors rated at 1,200kW, 600kW and 2 x 190kW cooling capacity. The 600kW unit will also double as the back-up air-conditioning compressor for technical spaces on board the ship.

Galleys, bars & pantries

The contract to supply the galleys, bars and pantries was the result of a close collaboration between the shipowner naval architects and the shipyard, in which MacGREGOR participated in supplying design expertise as a pre-contractual service. This meant that the Passenger Ship division design team was involved during the first stage of the project to design a complete catering technology system, including the lay-out of provisions stores, preparation areas, galleys, bars and pantries.

After cost comparisons between different alternatives, a detailed technical specification was drawn up to simplify discussions between owner and shipyard through a common understanding of the catering systems. All these solutions are compliant with the latest United States Public Health Service (USPHS) rules and regulations, and take into account the ergonomics of all working conditions. The provisions flow has been considered and devised in a way that secures passenger safety in terms of food hygiene.

Altogether some 2,866 different items of equipment will be supplied and installed in eight galleys, 14 bars, 43 pantries and service buffets. Galley/bar/pantry areas will occupy a total of 4,070m², and as the first part of the contract the Passenger Ship division will supply and install foundations, tiles, ceiling and partitions on a complete system basis, under which MacGREGOR is fully responsible for compliance with USPHS regulations.

By combining the three products provisions stores, refrigeration machinery and galleys both owner and shipyard will benefit from MacGREGOR overall responsibility, simple communications, complete supplies, guaranteed temperatures throughout the whole provisions flow system, and worldwide service.