Titanic II set to sail in 2027

It was touted as the most magnificent ship ever built, virtually unsinkable, with technology and passenger comforts that would revolutionize ocean-going travel. When the original Titanic set sail from Southampton, England, on April 10, 1912, with a full complement of 2,224 passengers and crew, everybody thought a new era had begun. Five days later, an iceberg sent the ship to the bottom of the North Atlantic. Nearly 1,500 people perished.

            We know the story of the tragedy primarily from the movies. The 1997 film Titanic won 11 Oscars and was one of the biggest box-office hits of all time, featuring real footage of the shipwreck, which had been discovered in 1985. Since then, numerous submersible expeditions have retrieved thousands of artifacts from the site, which is over 12,000 feet below the surface. Among the items salvaged was a gold pocket watch belonging to John Jacob Astor IV, who was the wealthiest passenger on the ship’s ill-fated voyage; the watch sold at auction earlier this year for some $1.5 million.

            Many of today’s cruise ships are far bigger than the Titanic, both in terms of physical size and the number of passengers they carry. Of course, 21^st-century vessels have technology far beyond what was available in 1912. Modern radar would’ve seen the iceberg a long way off, allowing for the ship to steer clear. If the original Titanic had been equipped with radar—which was still some 30 years in the future—the ship might still be afloat today, if only as a museum.

            Well, someone thought, why not build another one? That’s what Australian billionaire Clive Palmer intends to do.

            Palmer, who made his fortune in mining, has been working on Titanic II for more than ten years. He first announced his plans in 2014, saying he had “enough money to build the Titanic ten times over.” Work on the ship was suspended in 2015 after a payment dispute between one of Palmer’s companies and a Chinese firm dried up funds that Palmer, evidently, was not willing to replace with more of his own. He re-launched the project in 2018, targeting 2022 as the year the new ship would have its maiden voyage. Then came Covid.

            The billionaire met the press again last March, saying that “I’ve got more money now,” so Titanic II is back on schedule. Now its maiden voyage is set for June 2027. Palmer is serious about it, he says. “It’s a lot more fun to do the Titanic than it is to sit at home and count my money.” He’s still looking for a shipyard to build it, though, with construction scheduled to start next year.  Palmer plans to have contracts signed by the end of this year and estimates the 56,000-ton ship will cost between $500 million and $1 billion. By comparison, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, which carries nearly five times the number of passengers and crew combined as the original Titanic, cost $1.86 billion.

            Palmer says he is hiring some of the world’s foremost ship designers for this project, with the intent of re-creating the original Titanic’s features, such as interior spaces, cabin layouts, the ballroom, swimming pool and Turkish baths. And it would have more than enough lifeboats for everyone on board. The original ship had only 20 lifeboats, able to accommodate barely half of the people on board at the time of the sinking.

            The Australian magnate cited the award-winning ’97 movie as part of his inspiration for the project. At the center of the story, besides the ship, are star-crossed lovers Jack and Rose, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. (Jack was from Chippewa Falls, by the way.) Palmer said their love story was “one that touches the hearts of everybody.” He hopes his new ship “can act as a catalyst to reinvigorate some of those values that we’ve got, which will hopefully lead to peace.”

            Will Titanic II actually get built? If it does, and it indeed sails in 2027, we’ll surely be  able to steer our clients to the new ship’s gangplank. In the meantime, there are many other ships sailing the world, and we can help you get on board any of them. Give us a call!