Australian billionaire Clive Palmer plans to build a 21st-century version of the Titanic with the help of a Chinese shipyard, with the cruise ship’s maiden voyage from England to North America scheduled in late 2016.Read the rest here.
Palmer said he had invited the Chinese navy to escort Titanic II on its maiden voyage to New York, according to an e- mailed statement. The initial pact with China’s CSC Jinling Shipyard also includes plans for a fleet of luxury liners.
The original Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg in the Atlantic on April 15, 1912, costing the lives of 1,514 passengers and crew, according to the statement. Mining magnate Palmer, 58, has a fortune of A$5.05 billion ($5.3 billion) and was Australia’s fifth-richest person, according to BRW magazine estimates in May.
“It will be every bit as luxurious as the original Titanic but of course it will have state-of-the-art 21st century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems,” Palmer said. “The Chinese ship building industry with our assistance wants to be a major player in this market.”
Setting aside the monumentally bad taste I have doubts about the practicality of this. The Titanic was built with a lot of hand crafted luxuries at a time when there were no labor laws and the expense of duplicating such today would be staggering. Beyond which replicating the ship will be difficult while being in compliance with modern safety regulations. All that elaborate wood working in those dark Edwardian staterooms and public lounges? Wood and just about anything else that's even remotely flammable is prohibited on modern passenger ships.
If he wants he could probably get a ship that externally would resemble the Titanic. But as for the details and decor, color me highly skeptical.
1 comment:
I agree, that's pretty sick. I can guarantee there won't be the room after room of cigar smoke so thick you can't see the bar.
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