Would you sail on the Titanic II? You may have an opportunity to if Clive Palmer, an Australian billionaire, follows through with his dream to build a new version of the Titanic that he hopes will set sail in late 2016.
Palmer unveiled blueprints on Feb. 27, 2013 for a ship that hopefully won't be doomed like the Titanic.
Showing off the plans for the massive cuise ship at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York, he stated that construction will start "soon" in China.
Reuters reports that more than 40,000 people are already interested in buying tickets to cruise on the Titanic II.
Palmer plans to have the maiden voyage take the original course from Southampton, England, to New York.
Does Palmer claim his ship will be unsinkable? He is not making the same promise that White Star Line, the operator of the original ship, made back in 1912.
"Anything will sink if you put a hole in it. I think it would be very cavalier to say it," Palmer tells Reuters.
The original ship was designed to be unsinkable, yet approximately 1,500 people died on its maiden voyage after the ship collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic.
Despite not giving a guarantee that the ship won't sink, Palmer reassuringly states that the climate has changed since the sinking of the Titanic and there are less icebergs in the North Atlantic.
"One of the benefits of global warming is there hasn't been as many icebergs in the North Atlantic these days."
The Titanic II will be also be lot safer than its predecessor, with space in its lifeboats for every person on board and extra escape staircases.
The Finnish company, Deltamarin is designing the ship. According to Markku Kanerva, sales director at Deltamarin, the Titanic II will be the "safest cruise ship in the world."
For those who recently experienced a horrific vacation on Carnival's cruise ship Triumph or passengers who survived the Costa Concordia crash last year, perhaps the thought of sailing on any ship is out of the question.
But for history buffs and those who love the story of the Titanic, Palmer's quest to make the Titanic II may just be worth a chance.
