QM2 is “prestige terror target”

On the day that the world’s biggest passenger liner sets sail on her maiden voyage to the United States, security experts are warning that the ship could be a “prestige” target for terrorists. The Daily Express claims that the Queen Mary 2, which carries 2,600 passengers and 1,200 crew, is “hopelessly exposed to sea and land attacks”, adding that terrorists would find it easy to carry out a suicide attack on the ship. A reporting team from the newspaper managed to get within “spitting distance” of the boat, armed with fake explosives, and later flew within 500 feet of the liner in a small aircraft. The team was not challenged at any time. A “senior intelligence source” reportedly told the newspaper: “The ship fits Al Qaeda requirements. She is spectacular in size and prestige. She is a soft target as she is undefended and depends only on her speed to avoid trouble.” The newspaper also quotes US intelligence services, which several weeks back reported that hundreds of sea mines went missing from a naval base in North Korea. A spokesman for Cunard, which owns the liner, reportedly told the newspaper: “You can be absolutely certain that the security measures we have in place on the Queen Mary 2 are the best possible. Security is taken very seriously and is very much a priority for Cunard.”