Builder Says Plan for New Titanic Drawing Interest

Byline: Associated Press/Kelvin Chan HONG KONG (AP) — The Australian billionaire who’s planning to build a high-tech replica of Titanic at a Chinese shipyard said he has received an “overwhelming” response from people who want to be the first paying passengers. Representatives for Clive Palmer, who in April announced a preliminary agreement with state-owned Chinese company CSC Jinling Shipyard to build Titanic II, said Feb. 16 that his shipping company had received inquiries from people in the United States, Britain, Asia and South America. Interest has been so strong that “we’ve probably had half a dozen people already offering more than $1 million to get on the maiden voyage” slated for 2016, said James McDonald, global marketing director of Blue Star Line Pty. Ltd. The strong interest comes even though construction has not even started on the ship. Blue Star officials said they hoped to sign a final contract soon with CSC Jinling, based in Jiangsu province. They would not reveal how much Titanic II is expected to cost. Titanic was the world’s largest and most luxurious ocean liner when it hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank on April 15, 1912, killing more than 1,500 people. Palmer has said the new ship will...