Six years after Australian mining magnate Clive Palmer declared he was going to build a replica of the Titanic, and three years after he had to suspend work on the project due to money troubles, Palmer has announced that work on the project will start up again.
Clive Palmer’s Titanic II an exact replica of the ill-fated ocean liner is due to set sail in 2022, the billionaire said.
Exactly 110 years after the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in one of the world’s most infamous disasters at sea, an ambitious successor will set off to finally complete its doomed maiden voyage.
Titanic II is being built in a shipyard in China, rather than the Belfast shipyard in Northern Ireland where the original, “unsinkable” Titanic was built.
Mr Palmer’s company Blue Star Line has been working on the $700 million Titanic II project since 2012 and recently resumed construction of the replica after the project stalled due to financial disputes.
Aside from vastly improved navigation and safety technology and extra lifeboats on board, pretty much every else about the replica will be the same as the original.
Titanic II will mimic the cabin layout of the original and will carry almost exactly the same number of people on board 2400 passengers and 900 crew.
And it will trace the maiden voyage of its namesake, starting in Dubai and then taking the same North Atlantic route from Southampton, England to New York. After the two-week maiden voyage, it will embark on other global routes.
“The ship will follow the original journey, carrying passengers from Southampton to New York,” Mr Palmer told. “But she will also circumnavigate the globe, inspiring and enchanting people while attracting unrivalled attention, intrigue and mystery in every port she visits.”
>Juthy Saha
Australian Billionaire to Build Titanic II
