Iron ore billionaire floats plans to rebuild the Titanic

Australian tycoon Clive Palmer, who made his fortune through securing access to 160 billion tonnes of iron ore reserves in the Pilbara ranges, unveiled Tuesday in New York blueprints for his touted replica of the Titanic.

Palmer, 59, expects Titanic II to be ready for its inaugural voyage by 2016 with a crew of 900 to look after 2,435 passengers, and will mostly follow the same route from Europe to the Americas, Australia Today reports.

Titanic II, being built in China’s Jinling shipyard, will have some luxuries that were not available on Titanic I, such as a well-stocked hospital, a helicopter pad, Wi-Fi and air-conditioning.

The mining magnate, who first announced the plan back in April 2012, on the centenary of the ship’s sinking, said he would travel steerage on the trip, because “that’s where the fun people will be.”

More than 40,000 applications have already been submitted to be part of the first cruise in what is surely a sign of the clever marketing campaign that lies behind Palmer’s Blue Star Line company and the Titanic II.

(Image courtesy of Blue Star Line)