DUBAI A modern-day replica of the Titanic that sank in the frigid North Atlantic Ocean in 1912 will be headed to Dubai on her maiden voyage in 2018, if reports are to be believed.
Blue Star Line, the Australian company behind Titanic II, has reportedly said the UAE will be the proposed ocean liner’s final stop when she sails for the first time from China where she will be built at a shipyard in Jiangsu.
Set to follow the original route of the Titanic that sailed from Southampton, England to New York, Titanic II passengers will now supposedly board in Jiangsu, China and disembark in Dubai, according to a spokesperson in recent reports.
Intriguingly there is not a word of any of these developments on the company’s official website (http://bluestarline.com.au/). What’s more baffling is that the last time Titanic II was even mentioned by the company website was on May 14, 2014 in a media release about Aussie businessman Clive Palmer’s Blue Star Line signing Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with Finnish company Deltamarin and Avic Kaixin (Beijing).
Deltamarin, which had been appointed to undertake the preliminary works including design, prior to the start of its purported construction, however, told XPRESS their involvement in the project was over. In September 2013 Deltamarin carried out model tests for Titanic II at the Hamburg Ship Model Basin (HSVA), but in July 2014 Palmer pushed back the launch date – originally set for 2016 - by two years.
Titanic II was first announced in April 2012 by the Aussie businessman-cum-politician as the flagship of his new cruise company Blue Star Line (not to be confused with the British shipping company that ran from 1911 to 1998). A year later he reportedly held talks with UAE companies for partnership deals.
Questions over who these companies were and whether they ever tied up with Palmer on the Titanic II project, however remain. The Australian media claims the building of Titanic II hasn’t even begun. XPRESS couldn’t reach the company’s Brisbane head office for a comment despite several attempts.
