The Queensland mining magnate Clive Palmer is building a replica of the original Titanic cruise ship that sank on its maiden voyage in 1912 from Southampton to New York.
Clive Palmer, who chairman of China’s Blue Star Line which is building the ship, announced it signed a contract earlier this month with Finnish naval architecture and engineering firm Deltamarin to oversee the project’s development.
“Deltamarin will be responsible for coordinating the various parties involved in the project including the shipyard, architects, interior designers and operations managers,” Clive Palmer said in a statement.
The Finnish firm will review the project to ensure Titanic II will meet safety and construction regulations.
The construction of Titanic II is due to begin as soon as Deltamarin ensures that the ship is compliant with all current construction and safety regulations.
“Safety and interior decoration are the most challenging parts in this project,” explains Deltamarin’s Markku Kanerva, the Titanic II project supervisor.
“Safety regulations today are different than 100 years ago.”
Needless to say, the world will be focusing on the ship’s lifeboats.
“Concerning the amount, type and position of lifeboats and lifesaving devices, of course, safety rules are now tougher,” says Kanerva. “But our company’s reference list is full of first-in-the-world references.”
Once the Finns give the green light for the project, construction of the vessel will begin at CSC Jinling Shipyard in China.
Visually, the modern day Titanic will be a twin sister of the original, sharing the same aesthetics as her predecessor.
The Titanic II will have exactly the same dimensions as the original vessel – 270 metres long and 53 meters high – with 840 rooms and nine decks. The only major changes will be below the waterline: the ship’s hull will be welded and not riveted, and diesel-powered engines will take the place of coal-fired ones.
The maiden voyage of the Titanic II is scheduled for 2016. Once it’s ready, the ship will first sail from China to England before retracing the route of the original ship from Southampton to New York City. The vessel will continue to maintain a regular transatlantic route between the UK and the US.
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