Titanic 2 hoping for no rerun of the original
Titanic 2 hoping for no rerun of the original

Titanic 2 is to be built and put to sea by a shipyard in China.

Hopes are high that the replica does not suffer the same fate as the original which, despite its hubristic nickname of "Unsinkable", went to the bottom of the Atlantic with the loss of 1,502 lives when it was holed by an iceberg on its maiden voyage in 1912.

Manufacture of the ship is being funded by a consortium. It will be built at Jinling Shipyard in Nanjing on the River Yangtsze.

Construction is expected to be completed in 2016. The original was built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast.

The backers have claimed that a queue of wealthy customers who want a seat on Titanic 2 has already started to form.

Passengers are promised an exact replica of the original: 840 cabins over nine decks of the 53m-high, 270m-long ship.

Titanic 2 will also make the same voyage as its predecessor - from Southampton to New York but a spokesman for Jinling Shipyard said steps would be taken to eliminate the risk of iceberg damage.

"The liner will be equipped with advanced technologies, including the latest life-saving and communications systems to meet the requirements of modern navigation," Li Wenbao told the China Daily newspaper.

Public knowledge of the Titanic disaster of 1912 in China rests largely on the popularity of the 1997 Hollywood epic starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. It was one of the first Western films allowed in Chinese cinemas by Beijing and remains one of the country's most popular films.

Titanic 2 has been greeted in China as an exciting opportunity to change people's opinions about Chinese manufacturing abilities.

The Global Times said: "Frequent scandals involving shoddy products domestically and internationally have turned the term 'Made in China' into a synonym for cheap and low value-added products.

"It is indeed a challenge for China to fulfill a flawless construction mission as the world watches."

China New York Hollywood