When one of Australia's richest men, mining tycoon Clive Palmer, announced he had commissioned Chinese company, Blue Star Line to build a replica of the Olympic-class RMS Titanic, many were asking why?
Bearing in mind that ill-fated Titanic, the largest luxury ship in its time, struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. It went down on 15 April 1912, leaving more than 1,500 people dead.
"Titanic was the ship of dreams, Titanic II is the ship where dreams come true," he said at the launch.
Both the exterior and interior of the ship will be nearly identical to its ancestor.
"It will be every bit as luxurious as the original Titanic but of course it will have state-of-the-art 21st Century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems," he said in a statement.
Palmer is funding the project entirely on his own saying "if there's any money to be lost, it should be mine".
Passengers will have the option to buy tickets that allow them to experience first, second and third class. Mr Palmer says he plans to take full advantage of Titanic II's third class facilities.
"That'll be where the most fun will be," he said. "For me that's the great adventure. I can sit down there, have some Irish stew, talk to somebody and at night I can get up and do the Irish jig. It'll be a great place to be."
Mr Palmer said plans are in the works to provide costumes from the era of Titanic for every passenger based on what class of ticket they hold.
The intended launch date is set in 2016 and Titanic II will sail from Southampton to New York but when pressed he declined to state that the ship is "unsinkable".
Bearing in mind that ill-fated Titanic, the largest luxury ship in its time, struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. It went down on 15 April 1912, leaving more than 1,500 people dead.
"Titanic was the ship of dreams, Titanic II is the ship where dreams come true," he said at the launch.
Both the exterior and interior of the ship will be nearly identical to its ancestor.
"It will be every bit as luxurious as the original Titanic but of course it will have state-of-the-art 21st Century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems," he said in a statement.
Palmer is funding the project entirely on his own saying "if there's any money to be lost, it should be mine".
Passengers will have the option to buy tickets that allow them to experience first, second and third class. Mr Palmer says he plans to take full advantage of Titanic II's third class facilities.
"That'll be where the most fun will be," he said. "For me that's the great adventure. I can sit down there, have some Irish stew, talk to somebody and at night I can get up and do the Irish jig. It'll be a great place to be."
Mr Palmer said plans are in the works to provide costumes from the era of Titanic for every passenger based on what class of ticket they hold.
The intended launch date is set in 2016 and Titanic II will sail from Southampton to New York but when pressed he declined to state that the ship is "unsinkable".
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