Billionaire Clive Palmer Relaunches Plans to Build a Replica of the Titanic
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Think of the VIP cabins and private pools and restaurants that are available to MSC Yacht Club passengers, for example; it’s just like their very own first class, just by a different name. The new Titanic ship is powered by four Wartsila diesel engines - two model 12V46F (12-cylinder, combined output 28,8 MW) plus two model 8L46F (8-cylinder gen-sets, combined output 19,2 MW), to total power output 48 MW. The propulsion system is based on 3x azimuth thrusters (360-degree rotating propellers) with combined output 30 MW. Palmer said tenders for the construction of the vessel would go out in June, with contracts signed by December. According to the billionaire’s estimate, the project would cost between $500 million and $1 billion. Palmer has already started and stopped the Titanic II project twice before (in 2012 and again in 2018) and blamed the pandemic for the delays.
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If anything, it’s the two vessels’ lengths that are the closest to one another. For instance, those who have cruised from Long Beach, California and seen the original Queen Mary permanently docked adjacent to Carnival Cruise Line’s berth might recognize the Cunard flagship was already quite a bit bigger when it launched in 1936. At the time, it was 80,774 gross tons, just exceeding 1,000 feet in length. For the longest time, cruise ship food didn’t receive a great reputation, but thanks to a few modern cruise lines’ efforts, that’s all changed.
Comparison with the original RMS Titanic
The idea for the new ship belongs to one of Australia's richest people - the mining magnate Clive Palmer. Unable to control the ship’s direction and avoid the iceberg, the Titanic crashed and sank, killing more than 1,500 passengers and crew on board. The ship only had 20 lifeboats on board instead of its full capacity of 64 lifeboats, which is one of the many reasons why this disaster was as massive as it was. This question doesn’t really need to be asked, but for comparison’s sake, let’s look at how the Titanic stacks up against modern cruise ships in terms of safety features.
Icon of the Seas vs. Titanic: Passenger Space Ratio
The new ocean liner will accommodate 2,400 passengers and 900 crew members, same as the original (but worth noting, significantly smaller than modern cruise ships, such as Icon of the Seas). It will also, thankfully, be equipped with modern navigation tools, a wider hull for extra stability and yes, enough lifeboats and life vests for all. Unfortunately for passengers at the time, while every single cabin on today’s cruise ships comes with its own private bathroom (even if it is a slightly cramped one), that wasn’t the case on the Titanic. Instead, many first-class passengers, despite their luxury, were forced to share communal restrooms. But if there ever was a breach on Icon, double hull structures and enhanced watertight compartments could better defend against flooding. However, if worse came to worst and it ever had to be evacuated, for whatever reason, modern cruise ships have far more lifeboats, rafts and other flotation devices that exceed a vessel’s passenger capacity, let alone Titanic’s devastating deficit.
Clive Palmer unveils Titanic II design, promises 'authentic Titanic experience'
Back in 2012, billionaire Australian mining magnate and politician Clive Palmer announced his plans to build and launch the Titanic 2. His aim was to both completely recreate the original Titanic and then have his new vessel make the same journey that infamously left more than 1,500 dead when the original ship hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912. Palmer's original plan was to set sail in 2016, but the build, which was supposed to begin in China in late 2013, never got off the ground due to financial disputes. Design work and wave testing on a model of the ocean liner reportedly started during fall 2018. Australian billionaire Clive Palmer has revived his long-cherished dream to build Titanic II. After a number of false starts, abandoned plans and a lot of talk, Palmer has once again announced plans to replicate the doomed liner, with a planned launch date of 2027.
Around 50,000 tons of steel were used for its construction – more than the steel used for building an aircraft carrier. The replica ship includes many original features (Atrium's grand staircase, dining rooms, passenger cabins, swimming pool, boiler room 1, engine room, engine replica, mock-up steam engine) plus some new features (ballroom, cinema/theatre lounge). Originally was planned an audiovisual technology at ship's theatre to simulate the iceberg collision that resulted in the sinking, but the idea was later scrapped. Ship's disaster simulator allows "passengers" to feel the shipwreck atmosphere in 6D.
What Was Dining Like on the Titanic?
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But while Cunard has no plans to revive the Titanic name, other projects around the world have attempted to do so. As such, the Titanic’s cabins and common spaces were decked out with elegant European-style decor, with sweeping staircases (yes, including the one from the movie), ornate woodwork and luxurious furnishings. In March, Mr Palmer told a press conference at Sydney Opera House they had ‘re-engaged with partners to bring the dream of Titanic II to life’. In 2018, it was announced building work would resume, but when the cruise industry shut down during the pandemic the project once again came to a halt.
Journalists at the press conference were shown a five-minute video of what all nine decks of the Titanic II would look like, complete with a ballroom, swimming pool and Turkish baths. He also revealed that the Finnish-based ship design and marine engineering company Deltamarin supported the project. The “authentic Titanic experience” includes the option to buy first, second, and third-class tickets and having the exact number of passengers and crew on board as the original ship. In April 2012, Clive Palmer launched a new company called Blue Star Line -- a nod to the company behind the original Titanic vessel, White Star Line -- to create a replica of the Titanic, to be named Titanic II.
What Were Cabins Like on the Titanic?
On-site assembly was planned for May 2015 but started in late-November 2016. In December 2017, hull's construction at the assembly site was completed. In September 2017, ship's construction was half complete, with built 6 out of all 9 decks. In January 2018 was announced that due to financial problems (increasing steel prices), the project is pushed back until 2019. However, the resort's main attraction is the Titanic ship-hotel in life-size.
His hope is that people captivated by the Titanic's dramatic story would want to relive the ship's crossing. Even having a look at private accommodations, Icon manages to beat Titanic. The ocean liner’s two largest Deluxe Parlor Suites were known to encompass 50 feet worth of promenade deck all to themselves. When the ten-deck-tall Titanic set sail in 1912, the ship was widely known as the biggest man-made moving object of all time. At a gross tonnage of 46,329, length of 883 feet and width of 92 feet, it was not long before its dimensions were surpassed.
The project's cost was nearly CNY 1 billion (USD 165 million / GBP 105 million). The construction was scheduled to start in 2014 and the opening was initially set for 2016. The replica cruise liner is planned to be 100% fireproof and with an ice-strengthened hull (ice-class PC6) to withstand icebergs and any weather extremes. The maritime industry's most advanced navigation equipment and all safety standards will be implemented.
In total, the Titanic featured around 350 first-class staterooms, of which a small portion could be used as second-class staterooms if needed. The most luxurious of the Titanic’s staterooms were decorated in nearly a dozen different styles, from Georgian to Jacobean to Italian Renaissance, with a fine attention to detail in recreating every historic aspect of the various decor styles. After all, if the Titanic was a huge ship just about a hundred years ago, surely it is still at least a moderately large ship by today’s standards… right? Mr Palmer said the ship will offer passengers an ‘authentic Titanic experience’ but will be ‘far, far superior’ to the original. Mr Palmer said construction would start in January or February next year and that the ship is due to be completed by June 2027. The tragedy has long held a fascination for people across the world, with no fewer than 31 films made about the liner’s doomed voyage from Southampton to New York.
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