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How about a trip on the ship of dreams – the Titanic. Clive Palmer, the Australian mining tycoon, is recreating this experience with his plans to build a replica of the RMS Titanic for his Blue Star Line as reported by the New York Times.
The new ship will be built at the CSC Jinling Shipyard in China at a cost of $500 million. Blue Star Line, will have a European headquarters this year, to get the Titanic II onto the high seas.
The RMS Titanic was built in Belfast, Northern Ireland for White Star Line company and Titanic II is said to be a close replica of the Titanic and is set to sail in 2022.
Titanic was the product of intense rivalry between shipping company lines at the beginning of the 20th century. It was built as part of White Star Line’s fleet for gaining supremacy for steamship primacy with Cunard, a formidable British firm which owned two of the fastest ships in the world that were also among the most sophisticated and luxurious liners of their times known as the ‘Lusitania’ and ‘Mauretania’.
White Star’s chairman, J. Bruce Ismay, decided to concentrate on scale and luxury producing a new class of liners which would be bigger than anything that had been made before and would be the last word in comfort, class and style. The first ship in this series was to be the Olympic, followed by Titanic (1912) and Britannic (1915).
The Titanic was a majesty to behold, the one befitting the world’s most celebrated ship as it geared up for its first transatlantic crossing. It began its maiden journey when it departed from Southampton, England, on April 10, 1912, to New York with 2,240 passengers and crew with stops in France and Ireland.
The passengers on board the Titanic were mostly high-ranking officials, industrialists, dignitaries and celebrities. First and foremost was the White Star Line’s managing director, J. Bruce Ismay, accompanied by Thomas Andrews, the ship’s builder from Harland and Wolff.
The sinking of the Titanic after four days in the sea is perhaps the most quoted technological tragedies of the 20th century. This engineering masterpiece thought of as the unsinkable ship, sinking in its maiden journey after hitting an iceberg was the result of compromises and a lack of vision claiming 1500 lives. The lack of preparedness was evident with not enough lifeboats on board.
What does the Titanic II has in store for us? It would be the first major passenger vessel constructed in China, which is more experienced in building cargo ships than cruise ships, and a significant investment would be required to ensure that it met with the much more stringent safety requirements for passenger vessels.
The gross tonnage of the replica will be 56,000 GT, considerably more than that of the original. The interior and exterior of the ship are intended to be as similar as possible to the original. But today's safety regulations and economic considerations dictated several major changes to the design.
Titanic II would hold 2,435 passengers in first-, second- and third-class cabins — and include more than enough room for all of them in fully enclosed, motorized lifeboats. Palmer says, “Millions have dreamt of sailing on her, seeing her in port and experiencing her unique majesty, the Titanic ll will be the ship where those dreams come true.”
What more should the Titanic hold out?. In Palmer’s own words it is Blue Star Line’s passion for recreating the ship of dreams as a symbol of ‘love and peace’ in the world.
Published:25/04/2024
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