Almost 101 years ago on April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean. This deadly crash, caused by an iceberg, killed over 1,500 passengers that cold night. Many people today are very familiar with the Titanic, due to the movie that came out in 1997, one of the greatest love stories to date. Jack and Rose’s tragic love story captured audiences, making the movie incredible.  The story of this wonderful ship was so famous that Clive Palmer has made plans to recreate the ship.
The Titanic II is scheduled to set sea in 2016 and take the journey that the first Titanic planned to take in 1912 leaving from Southampton, New York. This ocean liner is being planned by Australian billionaire, Clive Palmer in April 2012 as the flagship of his cruise company Blue Star Line.
To keep this recreation realistic, Palmer plans to create the internal and external design as similar to the original ship as possible. However, there are small, necessary changes being made to ensure safety among passengers. For example, new “escape stairs” will be added to the original staircases, a larger beam for more stability and the new version of the ship will be more fuel efficient.
With any exciting project, comes criticism. The Titanic II is being constructed in China at the CSC Jinling shipyard. However, the CSC Jinling shipyard has never, in its history, made a passenger vessel that large. Representatives for the shipyard shared concern on whether or not the ship can be completed by 2016, and no official contract has been signed yet. Palmer has been described as someone who is eccentric and “over the top.” He previously made an announcement that he was going to recreate a massive Jurassic Park styled theme park at his golf resort. While many people criticize his outrageous personality and business ventures, Palmer seems determined to make this wonderful ship sail yet again.
Some of SHS’s students and faculty had some thoughts or criticism of their own. Ms. Loughnane voiced her opinion when asked if she would go on the Titanic II: “I wouldn’t go on it. I liked the Titanic movie but the ship sunk.” While Ms. Loughnane would stay on shore, senior Molly King said, “I would go on it, I think it would be fun.”
As far as we can tell now, this ship is hoping to set sail in a short 3 years. But the real question is, would you go on the Titanic II?