Chinese/Titanic Replica To Be Completed & Set Sail by 2018

Titanic Replica To Be Completed & Set Sail by 2018

Eccentric Australian magnate and MP Clive Palmer will push through with his ambition to build ‘Titanic II’, viewed as abandoned before late 2015, when his group has announced that it was a mere delay in plans. The new deadline to set sail is 2018.

The mega-ship is set to launch in less than two years, according to the Belfast Telegraph, but this comes after years of preparation and design as the project was first announced in April 2012.The original ‘RMS Titanic’ collided with an iceberg on its maiden voyage and sank, killing 1,503 people in the North Atlantic Ocean. But the ship’s tragic fate doesn’t seem to scare potential travelers: many are expressing their desire to sail aboard the replica.

Just as with the original, the new Blue Star version is also set to boast three different classes to cater to all budgets, offering its clients a swimming pool, Turkish baths and gyms.

The giant liner will have nine floors with 840 cabins set to accommodate 2,400 passengers and 900 crew members. Although the designers are working hard to create a near-exact replica, some of the features will have to go. These include wood-paneled walls, as they won’t pass modern safety regulations and will have to be replaced with veneers.

“The new Titanic will of course have modern evacuation procedures, satellite controls, digital navigation and radar systems and all those things you’d expect on a 21st-century ship,” James McDonald, the global marketing director of Palmer’s company Blue Star Line, told the Belfast Telegraph.

The ship will also be 4 meters wider than the original and have enough lifeboats, along with marine evacuation systems – and a boat deck housing replicas of the original lifeboats.

One radical change from the historical voyage is the new route: instead of between Southampton and New York, it will cruise from Jiangsu in eastern China to Dubai.

Sadly, the Titanic II is being constructed in China, which many call a serious flaw as Chinese shipbuilders are seen as having more experience with cargo ships rather than passenger vessels and will cut corners during construction. The original ‘Titanic’ was built in Belfast, and still should be. Cheapness isn't necessarily better when it comes to human lives. Caveat Emptor !!!