Titanic II blueprints unveiled
US: Australian mining entrepreneur Clive Palmer on Tuesday unveiled
blueprints for Titanic II, a modern replica of the doomed ocean liner,
although he stopped short of calling the vessel unsinkable.
The ship will largely recreate the design and decor of the fabled
original, with some modifications to keep it in line with current safety
rules and shipbuilding practices, and the addition of some modern
comforts such as air conditioning, Palmer said at a press conference in
New York.
The three passenger classes, however, will be prevented from
mingling, as in 1912, Palmer said.
“I'm not too superstitious,” Palmer said when asked whether
recreating a ship best known for sinking was tempting fate.
White Star Line, the operator of the original ship, had said the
Titanic was designed to be unsinkable. Some 1,500 people died on
Titanic's maiden voyage in 1912 from Southampton to New York after the
ship collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic.
Palmer, who created the company Blue Star Line last year, declined to
make a similar boast.
“Anything will sink if you put a hole in it,” Palmer said. “I think
it would be very cavalier to say it.
- PEOPLES DAILY
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