TITANIC II???

   Titanic II is a proposed ocean liner, to be built as a modern-day replica of the Olympic-class RMS Titanic. The new ship will have a gross tonnage of 56,000 while the original ship measured about 46,000 gross register tons (GRT). The project was announced by Australian billionaire Clive Palmer in April 2012, as the flagship of a proposed cruise company Blue Star Line Pty. Ltd. of Brisbane, Australia. The intended launch date was originally set in 2016, with the ship sailing from Southampton to New York within the same year. In 2015 the planned date for launching the ship was delayed until 2018. As of May 2016, construction had not begun on the vessel. The concept of the titanic has been explored several times to no avail. Expert fear Clive Palmer's dream and vision will not materialize. With an estimated cost of $500 million, things could easily go wrong. Just as predicted by the experts, in June 2013, it was reported that Clive Palmer may be experiencing financial difficulties, and that his two most prominent businesses were running at a loss. This followed the leaking of a letter where he asked a Chinese business partner for a $200 million AUD payment. His net worth was believed to have fallen by $1.6 billion AUD ($1.17 billion US) in 2013. When the project was first announced in 2012, Palmer claimed that construction would begin before the end of the year, with a 2016 launch. Following the launch events in 2013, he then claimed that construction would begin 'within a few weeks', with launch and maiden voyage still listed as 2016. In an August 2013 interview, Palmer however indicated that construction would not begin until March 2014, while still citing 2016 as the intended completion date. It was later claimed that the first cutting of steel would take place in late 2014, with launch delayed by two years to 2018.

     It was reported in late March 2014 that the project was unlikely to go ahead, and that the Chinese 'had lost interest in the project'. CSC Jinling responded by saying that it would be "difficult for us to build the Titanic II but we have confidence to build it". Blue Star Line reiterated claims that the keel would be laid in Q3 2014. As of July 2016 there was no signed contract with any shipyard and Deltamarin had referred all questions regarding the project status to the Blue Star Line.