Oz billionaire to float Titanic II in 2016 The businessman has commissioned a chinese shipyard to build the replica

Oz billionaire to float Titanic II in 2016

The businessman has commissioned a chinese shipyard to build the replica

Canberra: An Australian billionaire said on Monday he’ll build a high-tech replica of the Titanic at a Chinese shipyard and its maiden voyage in late 2016 will be from England to New York, just like its namesake planned. Weeks after the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the original Titanic, Clive Palmer announced on Monday he has signed a memorandum of understanding with state-owned Chinese company CSC Jinling Shipyard to build the Titanic II. “It will be every bit as luxurious as the original Titanic, but ... will have state-of-the-art 21st-century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems,” Palmer said. He called the project “a tribute to the spirit of the men and women who worked on the original Titanic”. Palmer built a fortune on real estate on Australia’s Gold Coast tourist strip before becoming a coal mining magnate. BRW magazine reported he was Australia’s fifth-richest person last year with more than $5.2 billion. Palmer said that previous attempts to build a Titanic replica failed because proponents failed to raise enough money and commission a shipyard. The diesel-powered ship will have four smoke stacks like the original, but they will be purely decorative. The most obvious changes from the original would be including welding rather than rivets, a bulbous bow for greater fuel efficiency and enlarged rudder and bow thrusters for increased maneuverability, Palmer said.