An Australian billionaire has announced designs for his Titanic II project, promising it to be "far, far superior to the original".
Speaking at Sydney Opera House, Clive Palmer promised his company Blue Star Line would construct "the ship of love and the ultimate in style and luxury."
However, the 69 year old acknowledged he hadn’t yet secured a shipyard for the project.
Almost a decade ago, Palmer held a very similar press conference at London’s Ritz Hotel to "launch" his Titanic II dream.
The plans for Titanic II were announced
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Work on the Titanic II was suspended in 2015 after a payment dispute between one of Palmer’s companies and the Chinese company Citic pulled their funding. Palmer re-announced the project in 2018 with a proposed sail date of 2022.
Speaking at the private press conference in Sydney, Palmer said: "It’s a lot more fun to do the Titanic than it is to sit at home and count my money.
"All you need to be happy, I’ve found in my life, is to have someone that loves you, somewhere to sleep at night and enough for a good meal. Beyond that, the rest is an illusion – it’s like playing golf."
Palmer said he was confident he could secure a shipyard in time for construction on the vessel start early next year, with the ship’s maiden voyage from Southampton to New York scheduled for June 2027.
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Australian billionaire Clive Palmer announced the plans in 2013
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Journalists at the event were shown a five minute video that showed an artist's rendition of what all nine decks of the Titanic II would look like.
Palmer said he was bringing in some of "the best designers in the world for cruise shipping" adding that the ship would have the same interiors and cabin layout as the original vessel, complete with a ballroom, swimming pool and Turkish baths.
According to the billionaire, Finnish-based ship design and marine engineering company Deltamarin was among the companies that supported the project.
He added the tenders for construction would go out in June, with contracts signed by December. He estimated the 56,000-tonne ship would cost between $500million and $1billion.
The Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank on 15 April 1912, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 1,500 passengers and crew.
It was mythologised in James Cameron’s multi-Oscar winning film in 1997 starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as Jack and Rose.
Palmer said Jack and Rose’s love story was "one that touches the hearts of everybody".
"The Titanic [II] we hope can act as a catalyst to reinvigorate some of those values that we’ve got, which will hopefully lead to peace."
