()— For more than a decade, Australian billionaire Clive Palmer has been the driving force behind plans to build the Titanic II, a replica of the ill-fated ship that sank in 1912 with more than 2,200 people on board.
Only about 700 people survived in what went down in history as the most catastrophic trip in the world and the trigger of an idea for a billionaire interested in cruises and with money to spend.
Palmer first released plans for Titanic II in 2012, and again in 2018.
Six years later, he did it again, announcing the relaunch of the project this Wednesday during a press conference at the Sydney Opera House with the city’s famous harbor as a backdrop.
Once again, the question is why?
“It’s a lot more fun to do the Titanic than to sit at home and count my money,” Palmer told local media with the candor of someone who earns nearly $500 million a year in mining royalties.
For Palmer, the question is not how to make money, but where to spend it.
When he first raised his dream of building a version of the Titanic more than a decade ago, popular opinion was that he was rich and eccentric enough to do it. But the headwinds of the pandemic arrived and the multimillion-dollar project was put on hold. as ports closed and passengers reassessed their appetite for the risk of being quarantined at sea.
Palmer, president of the Blue Star Line company responsible for the Titanic project, also had other matters on his agenda.
In recent years he has taken multiple legal actions against state and federal governments.
He confronted the Western Australian State Government for its decision to close its borders during the pandemic. Another of his defeats in the Supreme Court occurred when claimed billions of dollars in damages to the same state government for its decision to block access to compensation for an iron ore project.
Now he is taking that case to an international tribunal, seeking almost US$200 billion in damages from the federal government.
Then there were his runs for political office as founder of the United Australia Party, registered in 2018, whose policies included an Australian Bill of Rights and banning Covid-19 lockdowns and vaccination mandates.
He was famous for spending millions of dollars on advertising for very little electoral return, and the party was deregistered in 2022.
Now that the pandemic has passed and cruises They are back in the sea, Palmer said the time is right to relive his Titanic dream.
“We are very happy to announce that, after unforeseen delays worldwide, we have once again contacted partners to bring the dream of Titanic ll to life. Let the journey begin,” Palmer stated in a press release.
The plans are very similar to those of previous versions, reviewed to ensure that they comply with current regulations.
Bidders are being sought, with plans to confirm a shipbuilder by the end of the year, to begin work in the first quarter of 2025.
For now, Palmer expects the successful bidders to be based in Europe. He doesn’t believe Chinese standards are up to the task, he told reporters.
At the relaunch, his team shared an eight-minute video that has been circulating for several years and shows the layout of the ship and the appearance of each room, with actors in period dress.
Passengers will be encouraged to dress as they do in the 1900s, but it is not required, a spokesperson said.
The ship will be 269 meters (833 feet) long and 32.2 meters (105 feet) wide, slightly wider than the original. The capacity will be 2,345 passengers spread over nine decks with 835 cabins. Almost half of them will be reserved for first class passengers.
Steerage passengers will eat stew and mash at long tables in a communal dining room, as on the original ship, although a spokesperson said other meals will also be available for those who want a less authentic experience.
More than a century after the shipwreck of the Titanic, its story continues to captivate researchers and historians.
The tragedy inspired James Cameron’s 1997 box office hit “Titanic,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, and has fascinated amateur explorers drawn to the wreck.
One of those missions ended in tragedy in June of last year, when the five passengers aboard the Titan submersible They died after the ship had a catastrophic implosion on the way to the wreck.
Palmer wants to reproduce the Titanic—without the tragic ending—and he also wants world peace.
“We all know how to wage war. We have armies and we finance wars. People know it. But it is much more difficult to make peace. To make peace you have to persevere every day. “We are advancing inch by inch,” he states in the press release.
“The Titanic II is something that can provide peace. It can be a ship of peace between all the countries of the world,” he adds.
“Millions of people have dreamed of sailing on it, seeing it in port and experiencing its unique majesty. Titanic II will be the ship on which those dreams come true,” Palmer said.
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