Titanic II to Sail in 2016

Just weeks after the centennial anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, Australian billionaire Clive Palmer announced he's set into motion a plan to build a high-tech replica of the Titanic, dubbed Titanic II, which he says will sail its maiden voyage in late 2016, England to New York City, to commemorate the 1912 voyage of the original RMS Titanic.

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Palmer, Australia's fifth wealthiest person at an estimated $5.2 billion, has signed a letter of understanding with CSC Jinling Shipyard in China to build the cruise ship. The design phase is currently underway, as ship architects sift through historical documents and plans in an effort to recreate the century-old luxury liner that sank on April 15, 1912.

In 1907 American billionaire industrialist and financier J. Pierpont Morgan had initial discussions with J. Bruce Ismay about building three luxury cruise ships. Morgan's company, the International Mercantile Marine Co., owned White Star Line which was headed by Ismay. The ships discussed would eventually become the RMS Olympic, the HMHS Britannic, and the RMS Titanic.

Construction on the RMS Titanic, the second in the new luxury fleet of passenger ships designated as "Olympic-class ocean liners," got underway in Belfast, Ireland in 1909 and was completed in 1911 by Belfast shipbuilders Harland and Wolff.

The new Olympic-class ships were the most luxurious and largest at the time, capable of carrying more than 3,200 passengers and crew. Well-heeled passengers who chose first class accommodations found themselves in luxury cabins, some of which had their own bathrooms; unheard of at that time. The two largest cabins on the ships had their own private decks.

The ships themselves were equipped with a grand staircase, large dining rooms, smoking rooms, cafes decorated with palm trees, a swimming pool, a Turkish bath, at least one gymnasium, and several other places that offered food and entertainment.

Sadly, two of the three Olympic-class ships had very short existences. The Titanic, of course, went down on its maiden voyage when it struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic. The Britannic, launched on February 26, 1914 met her fate at 8:12 A.M. on November 21, 1916 when she struck a mine deployed by a German U79 submarine and sank.

Unlike the Titanic, which took the lives of 1,517 people with her when she sank, catastrophe was avoided aboard the Britannic where 1,036 people were saved aboard the Britannic and only 30 people perished. A tragedy nonetheless, the lessons learned from the sinking of the Titanic saved lives aboard the Britannic.

A century of modern advancements in marine technology and approaches to manufacturing should lead to a long and fruitful life for the new Titanic II. Sonar technology alone will make quick work of avoiding icebergs and other potential hazards. Titanic II will be made to the specifications of the original Olympic-class cruise liners, which by today's cruise ship standards isn't particularly huge.

In fact, the largest cruise ships in service today are nearly 300 feet longer than the Titanic and can accommodate more than 2,000 passengers. The Titanic II is set to carry 1,680 passengers, but it plans to do so in complete luxury.

Today's cruise industry is based on economies of scale, which require the ability to handle large amounts of passengers so the costs and savings can be spread around. For a ship to only accommodate less than

1,700 passengers it has to rely on the ability to market itself to wealthier passengers as a truly luxurious experience, perhaps one unmatched in the entire industry.

With a name like Titanic II, at least for a period of time, the worldwide appeal to book passage will be tremendous. In fact, it's got to be a marketing company's dream come true. Talks of rates and other specifics, particularly for its maiden voyage which will exactly match the intended route of the original Titanic's first trek into open seas, are premature, but keeping an eye on developments over the next several years will be fun and interesting.

Let it never be said that having billions of dollars is overrated, makes you uptight, or can only be used for evil and world domination. Cheers to Clive Palmer for getting done what others haven't been able to pull off in several other attempts.

Tim is a writer for cabletv.com. If you would like to follow up on this article he can be reached on Twitter. @Cabletvcom