http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17890754
Many daft plans have popped up in recent years, especially after the 1997 film. None ever came to be. There could be more of a chance here as this guy seems to have quite a bit of cash to pull it off, assuming things aren’t overly complicated.
I won’t comment on matters of ethics, whether one should build a ship named after Titanic, whether it’s disrespectul, or tasteful, whether it’s just using Titanic’s name for money, whether it’ll be jined, etc. Those are not matters I care about or that are important to me, especially as they’re mostly just a matter of subjective opinion. If you love it, fine. If you hate it, fine.
Whatever the case may be, I must list a few points for why you should not get overly excited about this:
- As this Titanic II announcement came on the heels of another political announcement of Palmer’s, this could be a publicity stunt of sorts, regardless of whether or not he’s actually going to try to build it.
- Palmer has had a few “issues” in the past, namely an incident where he accused the CIA and Greenpeace of being in cahoots in a giant conspiracy. While this isn’t necessarily directly related to his Titanic II plan, it’s some reason to question his motives and intentions.
- This is surely not going to be an exact “replica”, or even a close one. Palmer wants this ship to actually sail. In order to do it, you have to build ships according to modern safety and construction standards, which don’t exactly allow for ships like Titanic anymore. There will be no boiler rooms or steam engines, no quaint bridge. There will be additional, possibly noticeable navigational and communications equipment. There will be many large lifeboats of the modern design. The design of the very exterior itself couldn’t possibly be exactly the same as the original Titanic.
- Regardless of how they decide the decorate the interior, the interior layout itself would be different to a great extent, as most of Titanic’s cabins were not up to what would be considered an acceptable size today for your average traveler. Then there would be additional rooms in places that would have otherwise been taken up by boiler rooms, bunkers, and uptakes (A small theater could easily fit into the space of one or two boiler rooms).
- Interior decor itself would have to be up to current tastes and codes. Even if they try to stay as close as possible to original designs, there will still be quite noticeable differences from the original Titanic.
There may be other issues that I haven’t covered here that could throw such a project into doubt. Maybe it’ll happen, maybe it won’t. The aforementioned issues aren’t a death sentence for such a plan, but they’re enough to keep excitement at bay.
The most important thing to keep in mind in the midst of all this is one simple sentence, seven little words…
I’ll believe it when I see it.
Shadows of the Titanic
A blog dedicated to RMS Titanic, her passengers & crew, and the stories she still tells today. We will occasionally write our own articles & research, & we welcome Asks & Submissions as well! Enjoy our biography project where we are writing detailed profiles of each passenger and crew member!
This blog was created by Tanya, a History & Maritime Studies major, minor in Archaeology and pursuing a wreck-diving certification with her degree. She is a member of the Titanic Historical Society and dreams of a career in preserving underwater artifacts, specifically from Titanic, and opening her own museum & historical society in New York.
Jeni is co-owner of this blog. She is an Anthropology and History major, who does tours in the New York metro area and helps with research. She also focuses on fashions throughout history and social history.
Although this blog mainly focuses on Titanic, other things ship-related in history will be posted.
Aboard the Titanic: Australian billionaire Clive Palmer plans to build Titanic II... I'll believe it when I see it. →
