Shipping company Blue Star Line has announced a new date for the global launch next year of Titanic II on the retired aircraft carrier USS Intrepid in New York and has also rescheduled five other Titanic II events around the world.
In April, 2012, Professor Clive Palmer, a leading Australian businessman and owner of Blue Star Line, declared to the world his intention to build Titanic II, a full-scale recreation of the world’s most famous cruise liner.
The six Titanic II events were originally scheduled to take place in December, 2012. However, following the devastation caused in New York and along the east coast of the United States by Hurricane Sandy the decision was made to postpone all events until 2013.
Professor Palmer said the New York global launch and gala dinner will now be held on USS Intrepid on Tuesday, February 26, 2013, where he will officially unveil the plans for Titanic II.
Other Titanic II events will be held on February 16 in Macau, February 25 in Boston, March 1 in Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada as well as two launches in England on March 2 in London and March 5 in Southampton.
Professor Palmer said as the scheduled destination for RMS Titanic on her maiden voyage in April, 1912, New York has been central to the tragic ship’s story for more than a century.
“She would have docked at New York’s Pier 59, just a short distance from the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum where we will hold our global launch,” he said.
“Ultimately, only around 700 passengers and crew made it to New York when the rescue ship Carpathia arrived on April 18, 1912.
“While looking ahead to the exciting Titanic II project, we shall commemorate the past by paying tribute to the courage of the passengers and crew, along with those who risked their lives in the rescue mission.”
Titanic II is scheduled to set sail from Southampton to New York on her maiden passenger voyage in 2016.
In April, 2012, Blue Star Line signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Chinese company CSC Jinling to build Titanic II, while plans for the ship have been commenced by Finnish-based marine design and engineering company Deltamarin.
