Brief

You may not realise it, but cruise ship design suffers from a sad dearth of innovation. Or so says ship designer and master planner John McNeece. One of the principal stumbling blocks to more adventurous modern ships is the Panama Canal. If cruise liners are to use it their overall width is limited. McNeece has come up with the Quadruple Satellite Ship as an alternative. This Dan Dare-inspired behemoth features four smaller, detachable, sub-vessels on arms, allowing the five vessels to navigate the Panama Canal in convoy. It would cost an estimated $600m (375m). Has anybody asked how much it would cost to widen the Panama Canal?