In April of 2012, Australian billionaire, Clive Palmer, made a big announcement. He said he plans to build the Titanic II, an exact replica of the actual ship. His new ship will be scheduled for its first voyage in 2016. Also the Titanic II will be taking the same rout as the original Titanic. The boat will be built to the same specifications as the original, but will have modern safety and technological equipments without losing any of its luxury.   

            Clive has made his money from the real estate game along Australia’s Gold Coast which is estimated to be worth 5.2 billion. Then he  moved into the coal mining business. Currently, Mr. Palmer is the fifth richest person in Australia. His announcement to rebuild a replica of the Titanic came with the original’s 100^th  anniversary. He is excited to have Chinese based Jinling shipyard build his new ship and has even invited the Chinese Navy to escort the Titanic II to New York. Chris Murray, a noise and vibration control expert, who has worked on building Cruise ships and yacht’s, said “The Jinling yard is world renowned for their ships. I believe this will be a very high quality ship that people shouldn’t be afraid to travel on. I just wish I got to work on it to see what the original would have been like.” 

            The Titanic II won’t be exactly the same as the original; it will have some modern amenities. One such improvement will be its diesel instead of steam engines. This will give the ship more reliability, horse power, and fuel efficiency. The smoke stacks on top of the ship will just be for show. The Titanic II will also have a bow thruster and bigger rudder for better maneuverability, along with state of the art navigation and safety equipment. One last improvement it’s getting is the boat will be welded together rather then riveted, giving her better structural soundness.

             The Titanic II will be the same dimensions as the original, 885’ long and 173’ high. This is on the smaller side compared to today’s standard cruise ships. There will be 840 rooms that will house 1,680 passengers, fewer then the original and a very low capacity compared to other cruise ships. Ironically, Clive is starting his own cruise ship line called Blue Star. The Original Titanic was commissioned by the White Star and Cruise ship line back in 1912. Clive said the new Titanic will be a tribute to all that have worked on the original and the people that were lost in the sinking of the Titanic. 

             Many people are speculating whether or not to travel on the new ship, even with all the new technology. There’s no doubt that it will be a lot safer then the original so people shouldn’t worry about traveling on it. People will also not have to worry about any icebergs. Ethan Butler, a senior at IHS, said “I look forward to the Titanic II being a cruise ship and hope that one day, I’ll be able to go on it. I think it would be neat.” 

             People should try and get tickets for this tribute ship and get a chance to travel on it. It could be a once it a life time chance to relive the nostalgic moment when it set sail back in 1912. It’s a lot safer then the original so people shouldn’t worry about that aspect of it. So look forward to seeing the Titanic II advertisements in the near future and announcements about when you can buy your tickets. Every one hopes that this one will last more than one trip.