An Australian Billionaire Built an Exact Replica of the Titanic, Aims to Set Sail in 2018

The “Ship of Dreams” is hoping to hit the waters and sail once again after an exact replica of the Titanic is hoping to make a maiden voyage in 2018.

The Titanic II is a project being led by Blue Star Line, an Australian-based company owned by billionaire Clive Palmer. The new ship is expected to cost £300 million (approximately $433 million U.S.).

Blue Star Line plans to build the ship as close as possible to the original model. The only changes they plan on making will be for safety and modernization reasons. This ship will be wider, have a welded and not riveted hull, hold more lifeboats, and will have a better navigation system.

“The new Titanic will of course have modern evacuation procedures, satellite controls, digital navigation and radar systems and all those things you’d expect on a 21st-century ship,” James McDonald, the global marketing director of Palmer’s company Blue Star Line, shared with the Belfast Telegraph.

The boat will be built like the original, 207-meter-long, 53-meter-high, and weigh 40,000 tons. The massive ship will have nine floors with 840 cabins capable of holding up to 2,400 passengers and 900 crew members. It will also have Turkish baths, swimming pools, and gymnasiums. Tickets will be offered in first, second, and third class, just like the maiden voyage.

Unlike the original voyage from Southampton to New York, the Titanic II will set sail from Jiangsu in Eastern China to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

The original Titanic sank during its maiden voyage in 1912 when it hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic. Over 1,500 passengers and crew died.

Check out some of the recreations below!