Clive Palmer's cruise ship will be a full-scale recreation of the Titanic

Feb 27, 2013 07:15 GMT  ·  By

This past Tuesday, Australian billionaire Clive Palmer introduced the media to a blueprint for a new cruise ship set to be a full-scale recreation of the Titanic. Clive Palmer's replica of the Titanic, dubbed Titanic II, is expected to be completed as early as the year 2016.

Thus, said year will most likely witness the cruise ship's maiden voyage, and Clive Palmer is quite confident that Titanic II will not lack passengers.

In fact, Clive Palmer maintains that his decision to build a replica of the Titanic and have it sail across the Atlantic stems from his learning about the fact that many people are eager to experience first-hand what the cruise ship now resting at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean was all about.

The Titanic II's first journey will take it from Shanghai to Southampton, England, and later on to New York.

Interestingly enough, the Titanic II is meant to only function as a cruise ship, whereas its predecessor also carried mail and cargo, and doubled as a means of transportation.

According to USA Today, Titanic II will measure 883 feet ( 269.138 meters) in length, meaning that it will be roughly 3 inches (0.076 meters) longer that its predecessor.

The ship's design will allow it to accommodate a total of 2,435 passengers and 900 crew members, the former being granted access to a gymnasium, Turkish baths, a squash court, a swimming pool, a casino and even a theater.

For the time being, Clive Palmer is refusing to release information concerning how much building the Titanic II is going to cost him.

Thus, when asked about much money he would have to invest in this project, he settled for stating that, “The Titanic was a ship of dreams,” and that, “The Titanic II will be the ship where dreams come true.”

In case anyone was wondering, it appears that Titanic II will be built in China, by a state-owned company known as CSC Jinling Shipyard.