The most futuristic and technologically advanced ship to be ever built is Royal Caribbean International’s Quantum of the Seas. It has been built at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany and is about to make its way down the River Ems to the sea from where it will sail to Southampton.

The Journey

Why does it have to go down the river to reach the sea? Well, this family-owned shipyard is curiously located inland on the River Em, so that it escapes the wrath of the North Sea storms that ravage the coast from time to time, and that is why the ships built here have to go down the river to reach the sea.

Soon the inhabitants along the River Em are going to see this huge ship, the Quantum of the Seas making its passage and that also backwards, and it promises to be quite a sight for the public that are expected to gather on the banks to watch this unusual phenomenon.

Now there are plenty of challenges to conveying a ship down river to the seas, and with Quantum of the Seas the challenges are even more. At 348 meters long , 41.4 meters wide and weighing in at 168,666 gross tons, this ship is the largest ever to go through conveyance.

The river channel is very tight with only two or three feet distance between the side of the ship and the bank, so precision is required in maneuvering and the timing all depends on the tide and weather conditions. Because of the size of the ship, some power lines have to be rerouted as well as some bridges have to be lifted allowing the ship passage.

The ship’s conveyance is quite a task and a spectacle for the onlookers who will line the banks to see this massive ship maneuvering backwards 26 miles down the river!