We almost couldn’t quite believe the headlines when we read them, but there you go, it seems that Australian billionaire tycoon and former politician Clive Palmer is backing a project to build a replica Titanic.
Scheduled to set sail in 2022, the RMS Titanic ‘II’ has been on the cards since 2012, according to CNN, however it was halted by a financial dispute with the Chinese government in 2015.
The vessel will be a spitting image of Cunard’s doomed 1912 ship which sunk after colliding with an iceberg in the Atlantic on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.
To avoid a similar fate, the replica Titanic is said to have a welded rather than riveted hull, the latest safety and navigation equipment along with plenty of lifeboats. The maiden voyage on this occasion, however, will be from Dubai to New York.
Blue Star Line says the nine-storey ship will be home to 835 cabins, set to accommodate 2,435 passengers. You’ll be able to buy first, second and third-class tickets, as did passengers of the original. The interior is also going to be identical to the original, so you can basically walk the set of James Cameron’s 90’s hit film.
