The son of the QE2's first captain is to take command of the largest passenger ship ever built.

The announcement was made at the keel-laying ceremony marking the start of construction of the Queen Mary 2, which will be based at Southampton.

The new Cunard flagship will be three times as high as St Paul's Cathedral and longer than three football pitches.

Captain Ron Warwick, 60, from Somerset, will be at the helm when the ship takes over the QE2's Southampton to New York run in January 2004.

Captain Warwick's father was the first captain of the QE2

He has inherited the sea legs of his father, Commodore William Warwick, who was captain of the QE2 when it entered service 33 years ago.

When the younger Captain Warwick took command of the QE2 in 1990, it was the first time a father and son had commanded the same Cunard ship.

The keel-laying ceremony of the 150,000 tonne vessel was held at St Nazaire where the ship is being built by a French company.

Captain Warwick said: "I am honoured to have been chosen to command the next flagship of the Cunard Line. This is something of a Warwick family tradition."

The QM2 will:

Cost about �540m Be longer than three football pitches and three times as high as St Paul's Cathedral. Produce enough electricity to light Southampton. Have a top speed of 30 knots

The Queen Mary 2 will tower 200 feet above the waterline and will include lavish on-board facilities including a ballroom and a main lounge featuring Broadway-style productions.

Patrick Bossier, chairman of Alstom Chantiers de L'Atlantique, said: "Queen Mary 2 will be the zenith of shipbuilding today."

A naming ceremony for the ship has already been scheduled for 10 January, 2004.

Two days later it will head out on its maiden voyage to Fort Lauderdale in Florida.