Australian billionare to build Titanic II

Australia (AHN) – The fascination with the Titanic continues.

Eccentric Australian mining billionaire Clive Palmer is preparing to build the Titanic II and sail its maiden voyage from England to New York by the end of 2016.

The replica of the ill-fated ship will be constructed at a Chinese shipyard. The Chinese navy will accompany the vessel on its first journey.

Titanic II will be powered by diesel rather than coal, but will otherwise follows design plans approved by a historical research team, staying as close to the original ship as feasible. Like its predecessor, it will have 840 rooms and nine decks.

When Palmer was asked it if could sink, he quipped, ‘Of course, if you put a hole in it.” But he added that “it will be designed as a modern ship will all the technology to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

The boat will have the same dimensions as the original and storied amenities, plus a few more modern comforts such as an on-board gym, swimming pools, libraries, high class restaurants and lavish cabins. It will be constructed with “state of the art engineering.”

Titanic II will carry around 1,680 passengers. Interest is already floating.

Palmer is renowned for as much for his billions and he is for his whimsical impulses, gestures and contentious ways.

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