QE2 Refits and Repairs - Service Availability

[CAP]

Following on from the work Lynda is undertaking in documenting the detail behind QE2's out of service events.  I took a look at the information so far gathered and in combination with my research have compiled a listing which I'm describing as the ship's service availability.

What I have attempted to do is record all of QE2's Scheduled Maintenance (SM) events together with the Non-Schedule Repair events, these are shown as numbers of events in the table below.  To arrive at the more meaningful metric of what percentage of the given year was the ship available for revenue generating activities (I've chosen my words carefully here as you could overlay her charter activities, voyages or otherwise and arrive at a number which should reflect availability to the general public).

Events   SA             Events   SA        SM   NSR             SM   NSR    1968   0   2   93.4%   1990   1   0   96.4% 1969   1   1   74.8%   1991   0   0   100.0% 1970   1   0   95.6%   1992   1   1   81.4% 1971   1   0   93.4%   1993   0   0   100.0% 1972   1   0   93.7%   1994   1   0   92.3% 1973   1   0   89.3%   1995   0   0   100.0% 1974   1   4   91.5%   1996   1   0   94.2% 1975   1   0   93.7%   1997   0   0   100.0% 1976   1   3   90.7%   1998   0   0   100.0% 1977   1   1   92.3%   1999   1   0   93.7% 1978   1   1   86.9%   2000   0   0   100.0% 1979   1   1   89.6%   2001   1   0   94.5% 1980   1   0   95.9%   2002   0   0   100.0% 1981   1   0   96.2%   2003   0   0   100.0% 1982   2   0   81.1%   2004   1   0   94.5% 1983   2   2   87.4%   2005   0   0   100.0% 1984   1   0   96.2%   2006   1   0   95.6% 1985   1   0   98.9%   2007   0   0   100.0% 1986   1   0   81.7%   2008   1   0   97.3% 1987   1   1   66.6%   Total Scheduled Maintenance (SM) Events   31 1988   0   1   97.3%   Total Non-Scheduled Repair Events   18 1989   1   0   98.6%   Average Service Availability   93.5%

I will caveat the information which is that it is compiled from numerous sources and therefore is certainly open to review but I believe it is pretty near the mark.  At this time I won't add any further commentary and leave that to interested forum members to question and debate the information as deemed fit.

[Lynda Bradford]

Good work CAP

This is a really interesting use of the refit and repairs information that shows at a quick glance the times when accidents/repairs, or refits, such as the Falklands War reduced the service time, beyond what would have been expected.   

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

What a fabulous piece of research, CAP!

And big thanks also to Lynda for meticulously assembling the numerous details of the refits over the years. You are greatly enriching the Forum as a resource .

[Greg Rudd]

What is the stand out is the post 1987 numbers which after re-engineing made  the ship she should have been. I often wonder how she would have gone with the 4th boiler and a different turbine design. I often wonder were the QE2's turbines just scaled up versions on the ones uaed on the Oriana

[CAP]

Tongue very much in cheek... The big surprise is that she didn't manage to hit or break anything significant since 1992!

[June Ingram]

Congratulations to CAP and to Lynda for all of the fabulous information that we are learning and also documenting all of this for posterity.  It is indeed very interesting and very much appreciated !  June   

[Twynkle]

Tongue very much in cheek... The big surprise is that she didn't manage to hit or break anything significant since 1992!

Hi CAP
Thanks so much, your work is an amazing feat of "just about everything" including endurance! 
Have you had a holiday yet?

Going a bit off topic here!
Not meaning to be facetious here, you understand(!) were there really no other "hits or breakages of significance" post '92?
As a matter of interest, is there any way we can define grades of significance?

From the huge waves, right up to The Brambles ('08) - she'd sustained a few bumps in stern and aft areas of her hull
Will these have all come from roughing it up against the fenders?

[CAP]

Hi Rosie

The table above reflects QE2's service availability, the converse to this is the time she was actually out of service (based entirely on maintenance and repair outages). What I've also highlighted are the numbers of occasions she was either under going scheduled maintenance or non-scheduled repairs.  As such the significance of a 'bump' or mechanical failure is that it actually took her out of service.  There are numerous 'incidents' over the course of her service life which did not lead to her being taken out of service and consequently affecting her published itinerary.  I do have these events catalogued but these will present a separate set of metrics.