Today Australian businessman Clive Palmer unveiled the design and plans for Titanic II in New York The plans will be the same as the ones used to build the original Titanic in Belfast, Northern Ireland, before its launch in 1911.Palmer aims to reconstruct the Titanic with exactly the same design and dimensions as its ill-fated predecessor. It will have 840 rooms and nine decks and retain the first, second and third-class divisions of the original.
Passengers will even be treated to a dinner from the same menu as Titanic passengers on the day it sank on April 15th, 1912. Titanic II will be built in China and is due to set sail from Southampton in 2016 on her maiden passenger journey to New York.The original Titanic famously sank on its first trip from Southampton to New York, with the deaths of more than 1,500 passengers and crew.
In 1998, South African businessman Sarel Gous announced plans for a replica, and commissioned Harland and Wolff to produce a feasibility study. Popular Mechanics magazine ran an article on the project in September 1998.The article discussed the significant changes to the original design required to produce a safe and economically viable ship, including a welded rather than riveted hull, diesel-electric propulsion in place of steam engines, and a bulbous bow.
The article concluded that although the project would cost $400–$600 million, it could be economically viable. With my help he presented his £500m proposal to Belfast City Council in June 2000, but the Council’s lack of vision was apparent in its refusal to co-operate. In 2006, rising costs, complications with safety regulations, and limited financial support for the project forced its abandonment.
Clive Palmer first announced his project in a press conference on the 30 April 2012, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding with state-owned Chinese shipyard CSC Jinling ten days before. On the 19 June, it was announced that Finnish naval architecture firm Deltamarin had been commissioned to undertake the design of the ship, and on the 17 July a preliminary general arrangement was published. Today, 3 October 2012, he announced that the new ship’s design plans would be unveiled on 4 December during a private event in New York City.