TORONTO (June 29, 2015) – MIGHTY SHIPS is set to shove off for its epic eighth season, delivering an unparalleled stem-to-stern journey alongside the world’s most sophisticated vessels, premiering Sunday, July 19 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT exclusively on Discovery. The long-running Canadian mega-hit series, produced by Bell Media’s Exploration Production Inc. (EPI) in association with Discovery and seen in more than 150 territories around the world, uses stunning cinematography to capture the spectacular scale and innovation behind everything from luxurious cruise ships and cargo haulers to warships and oil drilling rigs, along with the navigational challenges of stormy seas and extreme weather.   Season 8 kicks off with twice the might, featuring all-new back-to-back episodes showcasing “Quantum of the Seas” – the world’s most deluxe cruise ship, boasting extreme sports facilities and an observation pod that takes guests to staggering, skyscraper heights. And battening down the hatches for the second episode of the evening, “Hawk” takes viewers aboard one of the world’s most powerful semi-submersible transports – a vessel that must actually sink before she swims.   **Media Note** Photography for MIGHTY SHIPS available online at BellMediaPR.ca.   Episode highlights from MIGHTY SHIPS – Season 8 include:   Quantum of the Seas Sunday, July 19 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT Quantum of the Seas is the world’s most innovative cruise ship. Filled with big toys, guests can fly a trapeze, surf, or even skydive without ever leaving the ship. With an observation pod reaching 90 metres high, Quantum offers a bird’s eye view of herself. For the crew, this first full-length cruise is no time to play. Quantum’s indoor facilities get a workout during early winter weather off New Jersey. Later, her captain battles strong winds in the tight confines of Caribbean ports. Finally, a computer glitch undermines the big show in the most technologically advanced theatre at sea.   Hawk Sunday, July 19 at 8 p.m. ET/9 p.m. PT To transport one of the world’s largest oil drilling rigs halfway around the world, Hawk has to sink before she swims. To load, she sinks down in the water, submerging her expansive deck. Then, Hawk slips under the rig, expels her ballast and rises up – lifting  her towering cargo like a champion. From there, she embarks on a 25,000-kilometre voyage, beginning with the notorious traffic in Singapore, continuing through stormy seas off Western Africa, and finishing up with an unexpected drift in Norway that puts the ship and her cargo in jeopardy.   Happy Star Sunday, July 26 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT Happy Star is brand new and ready to lift and transport the world’s heaviest industrial equipment around the world. Her first major job takes her from China to Eastern Canada, carrying the massive components for a crane-and-conveyor system. Along the way, Happy Star’s crew faces a baffling engine problem that sets them adrift for 24 hours. Then through day and night, they crash their way through daunting ice. Arriving at port, the crew sets the mighty ship’s towering cranes to assemble the entire system, creating a new iron ore loading facility. But frigid temperatures threaten to bring the entire operation to a halt.   Algoma Equinox Sunday, August 2 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT Algoma Equinox is built to haul more cargo faster, using less fuel than any other Laker.  On this voyage, her crew scrambles to load and transport grain from one end of the world’s largest inland waterway to the other –  passing through four Great Lakes, as well as the mammoth locks and tight canals that comprise the St. Lawrence Seaway. Equinox and her crew battle the fierce ice and winds, encountering sudden and enormous shifts in water depth. And after offloading the grain, she takes on a load of iron ore heavy enough to bend the hull of the ship!   HDMS Peter Willemoes Sunday, August 9 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT HDMS Peter Willemoes is the pride of the Royal Danish Navy. One of three in a new class of frigate, she’s built to protect an entire battle group. On this voyage, Willemoes and her crew undertake the most intense battle training exercise ever seen on MIGHTY SHIPS. They engage every weapon aboard – from machine gun, to cannons to a Harpoon sea-to-sea missile – and undertake rapid evasive maneuvers. But Willemoes’ crew must do all of this while sustaining multiple simulated damages. If they prove they can fight while wounded, this warship and her crew will be cleared for active deployment.   Maersk Interceptor Sunday, August 16 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT The Maersk Interceptor is the largest rig of her kind. Purpose-built to drill for oil in the harshest seas on the planet, she plants her 207-metre long legs into the seafloor, then lifts her platform high above the raging seas, drilling as deep as three kilometres down. The biggest challenge comes at the start: towing the rig 170 kilometres off shore, positioning her, and readying her massive derrick for drilling. On this – her first-ever job – Interceptor’s crew is challenged by high stakes and the tough decisions required to survive the biggest storm to hit the North Sea in two decades.   SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: Discovery Canada on Facebook: facebook.com/discoverycanada Discovery Canada on Twitter: twitter.com/DiscoveryCanada   MIGHTY SHIPS is produced by Exploration Production Inc. (EPI) in association with Discovery Canada. Gemini nominee Karen McCairley (ALIEN MYSTERIES, SEX FILES) is the Executive Producer. The Series Producer is Gemini nominee Richard Martyn.