Australian Billionaire To Build Titanic II

[webfact]

Australian billionaire to build Titanic II

SYDNEY (AFP) -- One of Australia's richest men, Clive Palmer, has unveiled plans for a 21st century version of the Titanic to be built in China, with its first voyage from England to New York set for 2016.

Palmer, a self-made mining billionaire, said he has commissioned state-owned Chinese company CSC Jinling Shipyard to construct Titanic II with exactly the same dimensions as its predecessor.

"It will be every bit as luxurious as the original Titanic but of course it will have state-of-the-art 21st century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems," Palmer said in a statement, released on Monday.

"Titanic II will sail in the northern hemisphere and her maiden voyage from England to North America is scheduled for late 2016.

"We have invited the Chinese navy to escort Titanic II on its maiden voyage to New York."

His announcement comes just weeks after the 100th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic, which went down on April 15, 1912 after striking an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.

Palmer said the new ship would be a tribute to the spirit of the men and women who worked on the original.

"These people produced work that is still marvelled at more than 100 years later and we want that spirit to go on for another 100 years," he said.

Titanic was commissioned by White Star Line and was the largest liner in the world at the time.

Palmer said he has established his own shipping company, Blue Star Line, with the new ship having the same dimensions as its predecessor, with 840 rooms and nine decks.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2012-04-30

[Orac]

Sounds more like the plot line from the next James Bond movie, particularly the chinese navy escorting it into New York.

[animatic]

When this is done, he won't be a billionaire no more...

Hope they go for double hull this time.

Edited April 30, 2012 by animatic

[TommoPhysicist]

Book me a ticket please, does it include free life insurance?

[nurofiend]

apparently another project he has lined up is to build space shuttle columbia II

[yummypizza]

Typical Australian Billionaire, get rich from raping your own countries resources,then take the work over seas, instead of giving it back to Australia,regardless of cost!!!!

[borisloosebrain]

Clive Palmer is an @#!$#%. IMHO.

[David48]

Ole Clive Palmer is quite the character here in Australia.

... and not a 'small' man either!

Additionally he has just announced that he is also running for Federal Parliament running against the Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Treasurer.

www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-30/palmer-to-challenge-swan-at-election/3980132

[Old Croc]

Palmer is a dangerous joke who has amassed billions by digging out Australian minerals and flogging them to the Chinese. The talk of using the Chinese Navy for the Titanic project is just a suck up to his customers.

This excerpt from Wiki gives an insight into the man:

Gold Coast United

Palmer purchased the Gold Coast United soccer club in 2008 to improve his profile in China.^[17] In October 2009, Palmer made a controversial decision to cap attendances of Gold Coast United home games at Skilled Park stadium to 5,000,^[18] in a bid to save money.^[18] After widespread backlash and only 2616 fans attending the next home game, the idea was scrapped after the intervention of Football Federation Australia.^[18]

On 29 February 2012, Ben Buckley and Frank Lowy announced that his license for the Gold Coast United F.C. was to be revoked for constant breaches of FFA rules and regulations and sought to pay out the remaining contracts of the players for the remaining month of the season.^[19] Lowy has stated that he acted in order to protect the integrity of the sport.^[20] However Palmer stipulated that he would contest the decisions through legal action and claimed Lowy was a dictator.^[20] Despite a ruling ordering the removal of "Freedom of Speech" logos on their shirts Palmer has indicated they will remain.^[21] On 2 March 2012, Palmer lost his Supreme Court bid against Gold Coast United's expulsion from the A-League.^[22]

[edit] Greenpeace-CIA Conspiracy Theory

Speaking on 20 March 2012, Clive Palmer accused Greenpeace of being funded by the CIA to bring down Australia's coal mining sector.^[23] His claims were dismissed by Greenpeace senior campaigner John Hepburn as "ludicrous", saying that Greenpeace would not accept money from any government, corporation or secret service.^[24] Clive Palmer also said:

"You only have to go back and read the Church Report in the 1970s and to read the reports to the US Congress which sets up the Rockefeller Foundation as a conduit of CIA funding, you only have to look at their secret budget which was passed by Congress last year, bigger than our whole national economy, which the CIA's got to ensure that. You only have to read the reports to US Congress when the CIA reported to the president that their role was to ensure the US competitive advantage and economic advantages. That's how you know it's funded by the CIA."^[23]

Clive Palmer's claims were furthermore rejected by the CIA itself^[25], and sparked calls from Labour and Greens party leaders for the Opposition leader Tony Abbott (closely involved with Clive Palmer) to distance himself from the claims.^[24]

Later days found Clive Palmer's CIA theory rejected by LNP leader Campbell Newman, saying "It's got nothing to do with myself and this campaign, I can tell you that."^[26]

[folium]

Typical Australian Billionaire, get rich from raping your own countries resources,then take the work over seas, instead of giving it back to Australia,regardless of cost!!!!

As an aside, does Australia have a shipyard big enough for a project of this size? Not many countries do nowadays. Fat chance of it being built by Harland Wolff in Belfast this time round.

[DoctorG]

Love him or hate him; he certainly is a colourful character. Mad as a cut snake of course but, hey, he can afford to say what he likes.

[bob4you]

When this is done, he won't be a billionaire no more...

Hope they go for double hull this time.

And fill the space with Styrofoam.

[Disander]

Sounds more like the plot line from the next James Bond movie, particularly the chinese navy escorting it into New York.

Haha!

[David Mault]

Which space do you mean? Between the ears.

[folium]

Ole Clive Palmer is quite the character here in Australia.

... and not a 'small' man either!

Additionally he has just announced that he is also running for Federal Parliament running against the Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Treasurer.

www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-30/palmer-to-challenge-swan-at-election/3980132

Get the feeling that this announcement has more to do with his political ambitions as it's a sure fire way of generating huge publicity. Not a complete idiot, Titanic sells!

[JohnAllan]

Funded by an Aussie, built in China, sailing from England. And unsinkable?

[pacovl46]

When this is done, he won't be a billionaire no more...

Hope they go for double hull this time.

Titanic sank because the rivets they used were of inferior metal quality and because the watertight compartments didn't go all the way to the top which allowed water to overflow them one by one.

[Jdietz]

Actually I've seen this movie (and wish I hadn't), follows this plot quite nicely:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1640571/

Storyline

On the 100th anniversary of the original voyage, a modern luxury liner christened "Titanic 2," follows the path of its namesake. But when a tsunami hurls an ice berg into the new ship's path, the passengers and crew must fight to avoid a similar fate.

Edited April 30, 2012 by Jdietz

[sparebox2]

The navy escort just in case it sink again.

[chooka]

Palmer is a dangerous joke who has amassed billions by digging out Australian minerals and flogging them to the Chinese. The talk of using the Chinese Navy for the Titanic project is just a suck up to his customers.

This excerpt from Wiki gives an insight into the man:

Gold Coast United

Palmer purchased the Gold Coast United soccer club in 2008 to improve his profile in China.^[17] In October 2009, Palmer made a controversial decision to cap attendances of Gold Coast United home games at Skilled Park stadium to 5,000,^[18] in a bid to save money.^[18] After widespread backlash and only 2616 fans attending the next home game, the idea was scrapped after the intervention of Football Federation Australia.^[18]

On 29 February 2012, Ben Buckley and Frank Lowy announced that his license for the Gold Coast United F.C. was to be revoked for constant breaches of FFA rules and regulations and sought to pay out the remaining contracts of the players for the remaining month of the season.^[19] Lowy has stated that he acted in order to protect the integrity of the sport.^[20] However Palmer stipulated that he would contest the decisions through legal action and claimed Lowy was a dictator.^[20] Despite a ruling ordering the removal of "Freedom of Speech" logos on their shirts Palmer has indicated they will remain.^[21] On 2 March 2012, Palmer lost his Supreme Court bid against Gold Coast United's expulsion from the A-League.^[22]

[edit] Greenpeace-CIA Conspiracy Theory

Speaking on 20 March 2012, Clive Palmer accused Greenpeace of being funded by the CIA to bring down Australia's coal mining sector.^[23] His claims were dismissed by Greenpeace senior campaigner John Hepburn as "ludicrous", saying that Greenpeace would not accept money from any government, corporation or secret service.^[24] Clive Palmer also said:

"You only have to go back and read the Church Report in the 1970s and to read the reports to the US Congress which sets up the Rockefeller Foundation as a conduit of CIA funding, you only have to look at their secret budget which was passed by Congress last year, bigger than our whole national economy, which the CIA's got to ensure that. You only have to read the reports to US Congress when the CIA reported to the president that their role was to ensure the US competitive advantage and economic advantages. That's how you know it's funded by the CIA."^[23]

Clive Palmer's claims were furthermore rejected by the CIA itself^[25], and sparked calls from Labour and Greens party leaders for the Opposition leader Tony Abbott (closely involved with Clive Palmer) to distance himself from the claims.^[24]

Later days found Clive Palmer's CIA theory rejected by LNP leader Campbell Newman, saying "It's got nothing to do with myself and this campaign, I can tell you that."^[26]

I guess anyone who invests in a soccer team in Australia is a few sandwiches short at the picnic. A very minor sport that has next to no media coverage and game that attracts crowds of a few hundred. Isn't the cruise liner business slow as well and struggling to survive. Stick to mining.

[skippybangkok]

No mention of Jack !

[TommoPhysicist]

Jack Dawson = Jack short penis

One of the many amusing Titanic jokes, only in Thailand.

Edited April 30, 2012 by TommoPhysicist

[TeddyFlyfisherDavis]

Does he have any more of those drugs...?

[kiniyow]

Great Idea...Most super rich think outside the box~~

[how241]

apparently another project he has lined up is to build space shuttle columbia II

+1

[Soutpeel]

When this is done, he won't be a billionaire no more...

Hope they go for double hull this time.

Titanic sank because the rivets they used were of inferior metal quality and because the watertight compartments didn't go all the way to the top which allowed water to overflow them one by one.

Actually the metal wasnt inferior, it was the best steel availible at the time (know as best iron) the problem was the amount of slag in the rivets ( the amount of slag would not be permissible these days)

Further at the time they didnt not understand the concept of ductile brittle transition in steels....Freezing cold Atlantic made the steel brittle, same as what happened to many liberty ships during WWII, where in hull welds started cracking

[TommoPhysicist]

Actually the metal wasnt inferior, it was the best steel availible at the time (know as best iron) the problem was the amount of slag in the rivets ( the amount of slag would not be permissible these days)

Further at the time they didnt not understand the concept of ductile brittle transition in steels....Freezing cold Atlantic made the steel brittle, same as what happened to many liberty ships during WWII, where in hull welds started cracking

I'm fairly sure contact with a big iceberg at flank speed would sink almost anything, old or new, iron or steel.

[louse1953]

Clive rak Clive is what it's all about.Same tactics as all that have gone before him.That ship will never be built,you can bet on that.Feed the chickens and 1/2 the gullible populace will believe.He was Joh 4 PM's top adviser,an unmitigated disaster,especially for Howard.It's all about not paying tax on his billions.He "donates" $A1million to the Tory,Liberal Party.They don't like him either but love his money.This man is a fool,but a dangerous one.Reminds me of things closer to home.

[Soutpeel]

Actually the metal wasnt inferior, it was the best steel availible at the time (know as best iron) the problem was the amount of slag in the rivets ( the amount of slag would not be permissible these days)

Further at the time they didnt not understand the concept of ductile brittle transition in steels....Freezing cold Atlantic made the steel brittle, same as what happened to many liberty ships during WWII, where in hull welds started cracking

I'm fairly sure contact with a big iceberg at flank speed would sink almost anything, old or new, iron or steel.

Of course, just adressing a couple of the specific points raised in the post.....big ship moving fast...big iceberg....in all probability....bubble bubble...

[Soutpeel]

Clive rak Clive is what it's all about.Same tactics as all that have gone before him.That ship will never be built,you can bet on that.Feed the chickens and 1/2 the gullible populace will believe.

so what you are saying is that he would do well in Thai politic's ?