Titanic II: Billionaire launches plans for replica of doomed ship
Clive Palmer unveiled blueprints for the famous ship's namesake Tuesday at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. He said construction is scheduled to start soon in China.
In this rendering provided by Blue Star Line, the Titanic II is shown cruising at sea. The ship, which Australian billionaire Clive Palmer is planning to build in China, is scheduled to sail in 2016. Palmer said his ambitious plans to launch a copy of the Titanic and sail her across the Atlantic would be a tribute to those who built and backed the original.
Blue Star Line/AP
NEW YORK
An Australian billionaire is getting ready to build a new version of the Titanic that could set sail in late 2016.
Clive Palmer unveiled blueprints for the famously doomed ship's namesake Tuesday at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. He said construction is scheduled to start soon in China.
Mr. Palmer said 40,000 people have expressed interest in tickets for the maiden voyage, taking the original course from Southampton, England, to New York. He said people are inspired by his quest to replicate one of the most famous vessels in history.
"We all live on this planet, we all breathe the same air and, of course, the Titanic is about the things we've got in common," he said. "It links three continents."
The original Titanic was the world's largest and most luxurious ocean liner when it hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank on April 15, 1912. Only 700 people of the more than 2,200 on board survived the most famous maritime disaster in history, partly because there were not enough lifeboats to carry everyone.
Palmer said an unknown when the original ship sailed – climate change – may play into a positive for the new ship's fate.
"One of the benefits of global warming is there hasn't been as many icebergs in the North Atlantic these days," Palmer said.
