Plans Unveiled For Full Scale Replica of the Titanic

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Plans Unveiled For Full Scale Replica of the Titanic

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday February 26, 2013 @10:14PM from the what-could-possibly-go-wrong dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "USA Today reports that Australian billionaire Clive Palmer has unveiled plans for construction of Titanic II, a cruise ship designed as a 'full-scale re-creation' of the Titanic, adding that the ship will be built in China and begin carrying passengers in 2016. The Titanic II will be built 883 feet long – 3 inches longer than the original Titanic – and weigh 55,800 gross tons, according to Palmer, who stopped short of calling the vessel unsinkable. It will carry a maximum of 2,435 passengers and 900 crew members, and include a gymnasium, Turkish baths, a squash court, a swimming pool, a theater and a casino. Like the original ship, there will no TVs aboard and probably no Internet service, Palmer says. Passengers will be able to dress in 1912-style clothing, giving them an opportunity to step back in time, or pretend they are Leo DiCaprio or Kate Winslet, who starred in James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster movie. But industry insiders are skeptical about the commercial viability of the ship. 'Titanic II is a curiosity and may have a draw as a floating hotel, but the idea of spending close to a week at sea on a vessel built around such a thin premise is seen as a stretch, at least by many within the industry,' says Michael Driscoll, editor of industry newsletter Cruise Week. Driscoll adds that he is skeptical about the future of Titanic II in the aftermath of the Carnival Triumph fire and last year's shipwreck of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Tuscany. Paul Kurzman, whose great-grandparents, Isidor and Ida Straus, died on the Titanic, says he has 'no problem' with the construction of Titanic II. 'I don't think they would have had any problem whatsoever, as long as the Titanic II steers clear of icebergs.'"

50 of 292 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Seperation of classes by matthewlw · 2013-02-26 22:23 · Score: 5, Interesting

I would have to wonder if they will effectively separate classes on a ship as they did in that time, this hardly seems like it would be a popular concept in modern day, however it is hardly an accurate recreation if they ignore this aspect.
1. Re:Seperation of classes by Joce640k · 2013-02-26 22:33 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Rose had plenty of fun in the the third class "Irish Jig" bar
  Plus it got her drunk/horny enough to grab Jack and do him in the back seat of a car so maybe it isn't all bad.
  The whole point of going on it is role playing so it should be a big hit in the orient even if whiny westerners don't think they can live a week without Facebook .
  
  --
  No sig today...
2. Re:Seperation of classes by JaredOfEuropa · 2013-02-26 22:52 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Perhaps passengers on this thing can get a taste of each. 2 days in 1st class, 2 days in 2nd and 2 days in 3rd. And 1 day shoveling coal into a furnace...
  
  --
  If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
3. Re:Seperation of classes by sg_oneill · 2013-02-26 23:11 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Clive Palmer is actually completely fecking bonkers. People here in australia treat him as sort of a scary/facinating madman who got all the dollars but none of the sense that one might associate with being a billionaire. Granted its not uncommon with australian billionaires to be a bit cranky (See rupert murdoch, gina rinehart, and so on).
  That said. I want someone to convince him to spend his billions on space travel. He's just far enough off his rocker to actually consider it.
  
  --
  Excuse the Unicode crap in my posts. That's an apostrophe, and slashdot is busted.
4. Re:Seperation of classes by Frankie70 · 2013-02-26 23:20 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  What do you mean not a popular concept in modern day?
  Flights have cattle class, business class, first class etc don't they?
5. Re:Seperation of classes by meddle99 · 2013-02-27 00:14 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  and another day floating in a life raft, you know, to complete the experience.
6. Re:Seperation of classes by DNS-and-BIND · 2013-02-27 00:20 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  The point is that she never would have been there...the movie was a work of FICTION. Imagine an elegant society woman going to a hoedown with the hillbillies to understand how ridiculous the concept is.
  
  --
  Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
7. Re:Seperation of classes by CAIMLAS · 2013-02-27 00:22 · Score: 2
  
  They're going to have to redesign the decks for the simple fact that the Titanic was not a cruise ship, it was a passage (aka passenger) ship. Cruise ships are going to have to have a lot more comfort and room available.
  That said, drinking, eating, and sitting around doing nothing are the primary activities on a cruise (I'd imagine). You can do that in any 'class' on the ship, conceivably. But I do imagine they'd improve berthing a bit for the 'general transport' class to more effectively use the space.
  Honestly, I think it's a splendid idea for those who want to 'disconnect' from modern distractions for a while. There are a lot of us who do. We need a detox, and being able to say "Sorry boss, I won't be available for the next week. At all." has a lot of appeal. You've only got a couple ways to do it now:
  * Go on a normal vacation but leave your phone off. This puts the burden of responsibility for missed calls squarely on you. And you're still likely to 'check in' because you're addicted.
  * Go to a very, very remote 'destination' vacation: remote to the point where you have neither a hotel or coffee shop near by, or cell service. I can only think of like, one or two places in WY and SD where this applies, but I'm sure AK has a couple, too...
  This is a 'guilt free' option. Honestly, the only downside I can see to a Victorian era cruise aside from how fake it'll be (I don't doubt they'll skimp on the decorations and use eg. cheaper woods and furnishing materials) is the lack of air conditioning (and/or heat?). But maybe they'll provide that, too.
  
  --
  ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
8. Re:Seperation of classes by pkbarbiedoll · 2013-02-27 00:34 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Because historically, extreme concentration of wealth in the hands of a few coincides with recession/depression and high levels of national debt. This is not hard to understand. Redistributing wealth to a smaller group of people means the larger group of people have less to spend. The smaller group owning the majority of the wealth will not spend their money the same way someone from the lower classes will.
  The reason we had such a great economy in the 1950s was in part due to the low income inequality via high taxation on the rich. Capitalism worked beautifully then, lifting the standards of practically every American. One can argue the same is not true today.
9. Re:Seperation of classes by nukenerd · 2013-02-27 02:03 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Even during the Victorian Era, much interclass screwing around took place. Don't confuse the stereotype of exemplary chastity with, as they say, "the facts on the ground". Prostitution was all over the place. Etc.
  Prostitution generally involved higher class men screwing lower class women. The other way round was rather unusual.
10. Re:Seperation of classes by Kupfernigk · 2013-02-27 02:39 · Score: 2
  
  A friend of ours who died a few years back was the son of a West Indian jazz musician and an upper-class British woman.
  His mother used to tell the story of how his father went to ask for her hand in marriage. This was early 1920s.
  Daddy: "So, er, how much exactly do you earn? Will you be able to keep my daughter properly?"
  WIJM: "About £65" (roughly an average annual income for a worker of the period)
  Daddy: "That isn't very much"
  Daughter: "That's a week, Daddy."
  Daddy: "Oh. Er...where were we thinking of for the ceremony?
  The past is often not how Hollywood imagines it.
  
  --
  From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
11. Re:Seperation of classes by DerekLyons · 2013-02-27 03:08 · Score: 2
  
  They're going to have to redesign the decks for the simple fact that the Titanic was not a cruise ship, it was a passage (aka passenger) ship.
  It wasn't even a passenger ship - it was a passenger liner... designed to efficiently move as many people as possible on as tight a schedule as possible. (The term 'liner' refers to a line on a schedule.) The closest modern equivalent would be a high speed commuter train - shuttling back and forth along it's route on an infinite loop, and otherwise pretty much nothing like a modern cruise ship. Cruise ships tend to pack people into the berthing decks to make room for the bars, casinos, and shopping areas because that's where they make their money. (Deck plans of both modern cruise ships and of Titanic are widely available, comparing them is instructional.) A 'modern' Titanic has no room for those amenities without compromising the accuracy of the re-creation.
  
  That said, drinking, eating, and sitting around doing nothing are the primary activities on a cruise (I'd imagine).
  Close enough. Though other activities are available/possible depending on the cruise... on sea days on the Alaska cruise we took for our 20th anniversary, I spent many hours on deck with my camera. (My wife spent the time in the spa... I'd join her in the heated pool when I got chilled.) There was also a variety of classes and lectures each day. Most modern cruises are also built around port excursions, sprinting between ports overnight. (Again, these schedules are available on the web, and it's instructional to compare them to Titanic's itinerary.)
12. Re:Seperation of classes by tehcyder · 2013-02-27 04:11 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  As long as the wealth is created in a free market, that wealth is a reflection of merit, either of the individual in possession of the wealth or of someone who left it to them voluntarily.
  Remind me again how being born to rich parents is meritorious?
  You are clearly a deranged socialist who can't understand common sense. The wealth is meritorious in itself. Once created, it creates meritoriousness in all who are clever enough to touch it. An so a Meritoriocracy is created. You poor peasants wouldn't understand.
  Now get off my expensively manicured front lawn, you unutterable oik.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
13. Re:Seperation of classes by tehcyder · 2013-02-27 04:19 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Mod parent -5 for knowing any detail whatsoever of the plot of Titanic.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Please tell me it wont be an accurate replica... by jonwil · 2013-02-26 22:26 · Score: 5, Funny

There are some parts of the old ship that most definitely should NOT be replicated on the new one.
Like the lifeboats.
And the engines.
And the bridge (and its navigation equipment and iceburg detection systems)
And the kitchens
Re:Please tell me it wont be an accurate replica.. by a_hanso · 2013-02-26 22:31 · Score: 4, Funny

There are some parts of the old ship that most definitely should NOT be replicated on the new one.
Like the lifeboats.
And the engines.
And the bridge (and its navigation equipment and iceburg detection systems)
And the kitchens
And the iceberg itself. I don't think I'll be comfortable in a recreation of a scenario that ends in people freezing to death.
Well spent monay, not. by u64 · 2013-02-26 22:34 · Score: 5, Funny

What's next, Hindenburg replica?
1. Re:Well spent monay, not. by heypete · 2013-02-26 22:42 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  What's next, Hindenburg replica?
  Why not? Traveling by airship would be a unique experience for many people.
  With proper precautions, hydrogen as a lifting gas is not considerably more hazardous than jet aircraft loaded with gobs of jet fuel /covering the fabric of the airship with highly flammable chemicals seems like a bad idea
2. Re:Well spent monay, not. by squiggleslash · 2013-02-27 00:34 · Score: 2
  
  From memory, the R101 disaster was caused by structural failures (in turn caused by poor design decisions in turn caused by political problems with the project.) R101 didn't catch fire until after it crashed. Had it been a plane with the same problems, the same thing would have happened, except there'd have been no survivors from a plane crashing into the ground at standard cruise speeds.
  Further I don't think one can reasonably travel across the Atlantic in a 747 pumped full of jet fuel, and then, on reaching the other side, complain that hydrogen lifted airships are a bad thing because they might catch fire, especially as the Hindenberg experience, if anything, proved hydrogen's relative safety - a plane catching fire at the same height would not have had anything like the same survival rate.
  The problems with 1930s airships are mostly to do with the difficulty at that time of creating a massive, skyscraper sized, object that was also lightweight and able to move at speeds of up to 100mph. Hydrogen? Outside of its corrosive properties, that had to be handled and probably weren't to the degree needed, it was never the major problem.
  
  --
  You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
3. Re:Well spent monay, not. by bluefoxlucid · 2013-02-27 01:54 · Score: 2
  
  Why is it 3 inches longer?
  
  --
  Support my political activism on Patreon.
4. Re:Well spent monay, not. by tehcyder · 2013-02-27 04:38 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Why is it 3 inches longer?
  Clive Palmer is standing on the front sticking his cock out pretending Kate Winslett is on the end of it.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Looney by hairyfish · 2013-02-26 22:36 · Score: 5, Informative

For those outside Australia, Clive Palmer is well known looney tunes. He has a habit of making outlandish claims (such as the CIA is funding the Green (hippie) party purely to destabilise our coal industry), I'd be surprised if this ever sees the light of day.
1. Re:Looney by mad+flyer · 2013-02-26 22:46 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  And nobody tell the guys that the titanic had -from memory- at least one sistership who went on with her own commercial career without anykind of troubles...
2. Re:Looney by Alioth · 2013-02-26 23:05 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Almost any kind of troubles. The Olympic did crash into a British warship, the collision holing her both below and above the waterline, but no one was hurt in that one and neither the Olympic nor the warship sank.
  According to Wikipedia, one of the passengers on the Olympic when it crashed later was later on the Titanic when she sank (and survived that ordeal), and later was on the Britannic when it sank (surviving that one too).
  
  --
  Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows
3. Re:Looney by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-26 23:34 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  According to Wikipedia, one of the passengers on the Olympic when it crashed later was later on the Titanic when she sank (and survived that ordeal), and later was on the Britannic when it sank (surviving that one too).
  Slightly luckier than the Tsutomu Yamaguchi who got hit by two nukes. (and survived that ordeal.)
4. Re:Looney by AnalogDiehard · 2013-02-27 03:30 · Score: 2
  
  Almost any kind of troubles. The Olympic did crash into a British warship, the collision holing her both below and above the waterline, but no one was hurt in that one and neither the Olympic nor the warship sank.
  That collision was shortly before the Titanic sailed. Over twenty years later towards the end of her career, Olympic had another collision. It collided with and sank the Nantucket lightship with loss of life from the lightship.
  
  --
  Eternity: will that be smoking, or non-smoking? I Corinthians 6:9-10
If they're going to do it... by egcagrac0 · 2013-02-26 22:37 · Score: 2

I'd prefer it to be called the Olympic - the one of the three that didn't sink.
No internet by DFJA · 2013-02-26 22:40 · Score: 2

I never knew the original Titanic didn't have internet access. I thought it was supposed to be a luxury ship!

--
43 - For those who require slightly more than the answer to life, the universe and everything.
Re:Please tell me it wont be an accurate replica.. by leathered · 2013-02-26 22:53 · Score: 5, Funny

They had British chefs.

--
For all intensive porpoises your a bunch of rediculous loosers
Finally, the ship for the movie by Doalwa · 2013-02-26 23:17 · Score: 3, Funny

I was wondering when somebody would step up to the challenge and finally build a ship based on that wonderful movie from a few years back: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1640571/?ref_=fn_al_tt_9
Re:Please tell me it wont be an accurate replica.. by Zaatxe · 2013-02-26 23:24 · Score: 4, Funny

Don't worry, global warming took care of this one!

--
So say we all
Nothing wrong with the equipment... by Kupfernigk · 2013-02-26 23:39 · Score: 3, Insightful

...or indeed with the iceberg detection. The problem was with the owners and the officers, and they aren't around any more.
Here's a hint: there were other ships in the area and none of them sank due to icebergs.

--
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
Re:Please tell me it wont be an accurate replica.. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-26 23:41 · Score: 2, Informative

Well, they could at least give the crew binoculars:)
The lack of binoculars and that affecting the lookouts ability to see the iceberg is a bullshit myth. Even with today's binoculars it's easier to see things in the dark with just bare eyes simply because when you're staring at almost complete darkness with binoculars you have no references you can see when you look around so it's pure luck if you spot something. However, with bare eyes you can easily spot even a tiny difference from the complete darkness ahead (when your eyes have adjusted, which takes 15-20 minutes). Then you use night vision binoculars to figure out what exactly it is that you see. Back then optics were complete shit compared with today's motion stabilized binoculars and nobody back then had even envisioned night vision binoculars.
Because bare eyes are still the best way to notice things in the widest possible field of vision in the dark, ships' lightning is designed very carefully so that none of the lanterns or cabin lights or any other lights are reflected to the bridge windows. If you look closely, you can see that this is the case even with extremely well lit cruise ships at night.
(Yes, I am cruise ship bridge crew.)
Re:Dilation by Kupfernigk · 2013-02-26 23:50 · Score: 3, Funny

Three inches extra dilation? She seemed to think it was important.

--
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
Re:unsinkable by wonkey_monkey · 2013-02-27 00:09 · Score: 2

Well...

publications such as the Irish News and Belfast Morning News and Shipbuilder printed detailed articles about the ship's construction and noted that "The Captain may, by simply moving an electric switch, instantly close the doors throughout and make the vessel practically unsinkable."

a White Star promotional flyer for the Olympic and Titanic ... claimed "as far as it is possible to do, these two wonderful vessels are designed to be unsinkable."

--
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
Re:unsinkable by Threni · 2013-02-27 00:17 · Score: 2

I designed my statement to be practically correct.
wtc by leuk_he · 2013-02-27 00:19 · Score: 2

build a replica of the new york WTC. What are the odds a place will fly into it twice?
Re:Please tell me it wont be an accurate replica.. by westlake · 2013-02-27 00:24 · Score: 2

There are some parts of the old ship that most definitely should NOT be replicated on the new one.
Olympic, Titanic's twin sister, was in service for 24 years on the North Atlantic run.
I don't see any problem with the engines.
If your complaint is about the inefficacies of coal or the manning requirements and working conditions aboard a coal-fired ship, take it up with Winston Churchill. Naval innovation: From coal to oil
If you are First Lord of the Admiralty. you can make these things happen.
I don't see any problems with the kitchens.
Last Dinner On the Titanic: Menus and Recipes from the Great Liner, in print since 1997, and a particularly fine example of the cookbook as art and history, is far from obsessed with the first class service alone.
Re:Please tell me it wont be an accurate replica.. by MitchDev · 2013-02-27 01:23 · Score: 5, Insightful

Actually, load the the ship with the "top 1%" and sink the bitch fast, no lifeboats.
Re:I think by dbIII · 2013-02-27 01:31 · Score: 4, Informative

He had a big event on this subject in New York yesterday.
Of course he's well known in Australia for stupid announcements that have little to do with reality. It was just over a year ago that he called a press conference to announce that Australia's environmental groups were funded by the CIA.
Re:Please tell me it wont be an accurate replica.. by dbIII · 2013-02-27 01:44 · Score: 2

Since I've got a materials background I thought that as well, especially since I've spent a lot of time hitting little bits of steel that had been soaked in ice water with a huge hammer and seeing how brittle some are. There definitely is unsuitable steel for ships in the North Atlantic, as seen later when the Liberty ships used the cheapest steel available and repeated earlier mistakes. However after reading Joseph Conrad's newspaper article on the Titanic enquiry (thanks to Project Gutenburg), it's hard to argue with his suggestion that the impact was so large that the toughest steel available would not have helped enough. That's a lot of momentum and the point of impact with the ice would not have been large.
Re:I think by durrr · 2013-02-27 01:44 · Score: 4, Funny

Yes, the league of Irony and Evil have agreed to fund a life-size replica of the iceberg that sunk titanic.
If you happen to know the formula of ice-coloured stealth paint and/or how to build silent diesel electric motors, please send you CV to titanic_reenactment@repeathistory.com
Breaking news is overrated... by rmdingler · 2013-02-27 01:46 · Score: 2

It is also notoriously inaccurate as competing 24 hour news outlets attempt to out-scoop one another with little, if any, story validation. Early reporting at recent FPS stories like Sandy Hook, Fort Hood, and the Colorado theater included a misidentifed shooter and multiple-shooter inaccuracies. The best intellectual reflection is usually done when variables such as untruths can be left out of one's regression analysis.

--
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
Edwardian culture by Kupfernigk · 2013-02-27 02:48 · Score: 4, Insightful

Prostitution yes. Affairs, no.
Upper class women were often left at home for long periods while their husbands went off to rule the Empire. The result was a culture of affairs with men of similar social standing, and also of sex with the servants. The latter was in some ways a form of prostitution; in exchange for a clean indoor job involving standing around handing out food and drink and shifting luggage, all board, lodging and clothes provided, a footman was expected to service the mistress and perhaps her friends. In a divorce case (which was really considered scandalous) it was not done to cite other parties lower than one's own social status, i.e. bonking servants didn't count.
Not in all cases obviously, perhaps not in a majority, but the rules have been well documented.

--
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
1. Re:Edwardian culture by Shinobi · 2013-02-27 03:48 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  In a way, that reminds me of the Clinton-Lewinsky "scandal" and some of the extreme reactions....
  The "good christians/family values wardens" in the US: "Omg, he's got a mistress!!"
  Italians, spaniards and french people I knew at the time: "Omg, he's got only 1 mistress!"
2. Re:Edwardian culture by tehcyder · 2013-02-27 04:22 · Score: 2
  
  The latter was in some ways a form of prostitution; in exchange for a clean indoor job involving standing around handing out food and drink and shifting luggage, all board, lodging and clothes provided, a footman was expected to service the mistress and perhaps her friends
  If you read any Victorian novel, the footmen are almost always well-built and good-looking, with fine calves and a ready smile. You can see why they annoy the god-fearing, moralistic young heroes, who clearly aren't getting anywhere near the same quantity or quality of horizontal jogging.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
How long will the line be for "King of the World?" by default+luser · 2013-02-27 05:32 · Score: 3, Funny

You know every fucking passenger will have to "experience" it, but there's only one prow on this ship, and more people there just ruins the experience.
Maybe they'll use FastPass to reserve your place in line?
"My love, I reserved the King of the World ride at 6pm, followed by a frolic in the back seat of an old clunker!"
So romantic!

--
Man is the animal that laughs.
And occasionally whores for Karma.
Re:Please tell me it wont be an accurate replica.. by dkleinsc · 2013-02-27 05:51 · Score: 4, Funny

Ah yes:
Heaven - where the police are British, the chefs are French, the lovers are Italian, the cars are made by the Germans, and it's organized by the Swiss.
Hell - where the police are German, the chefs are British, the lovers are Swiss, the cars are made by the French, and it's organized by the Italians.

--
I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
A kickstarter project: build an iceberg by whitroth · 2013-02-27 06:05 · Score: 2

So, what do you think, slashdotters - should I start a kickstart for a project to build a self-moving, steerable iceberg?
mark "the ship sank; get over it"
Toothbrush Trivia by crazyvas · 2013-02-27 06:16 · Score: 2

And that passenger who was on all three ships when they crashed/sank, became a pro at handling ship sinkings:

"She had also made sure to grab her toothbrush before leaving her cabin on the Britannic, saying later that it was the one thing she missed most immediately, following the sinking of the Titanic."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violet_Jessop