Australian mining entrepreneur Clive Palmerunveiled blueprints for Titanic II on Tuesday, a modern replica of the doomed ocean liner, although he stopped short of calling the vessel unsinkable.

"It will have the same sort of design, except it will be constructed differently. So that the hull will be welded, it won't be pop riveted for example. The power will not be by a large amount of coal, it will be diesel electric. We'll still have three propellers because that was part of the original ship. We'll have an additional deck which will mean that the bridge is higher and we can see over the bow. And of course we'll have safety lifeboats, Atlantic first class lifeboats, that will sail around the world themselves as little ships if need be. We'll have radar, we'll have satellite navigation and we'll have air conditioning for everybody. But of course, we'll utilize the designs and then we'll have the same Titanic experience you would have had in 1912."

Palmer said courage and sacrifice comes to his mind when he thinks of the legacy of the original Titanic.

During a news conference, Palmer declined to answer questions about the project's cost. Although the Titanic was the world's largest ship in her time, she would be smaller than many of today's modern cruise ships.

Titanic II will be built by Chinese state-owned CSC Jinling Shipyard, which is already building four ore carriers for Palmer's mining business, he said. The contract to build Titanic II has not yet been signed, Palmer said.

Palmer said he hoped construction would begin later this year, and that the maiden voyage, recreating the trans-Atlantic crossing of the original, would take place in 2016.

Unlike the original, Titanic II will have more than enough space in its lifeboats for every person on board and will have additional escape staircases.

Titanic II will operate as a luxury cruise ship with a casino, theatre and modern hospital, but passengers will find 1912-style clothing in their rooms should they wish to dress up and pretend they are living in an earlier era as they visit facsimiles of the original gilded first-class dining and smoking rooms, if they have the appropriate ticket.

Although the classes will be kept largely separate, Palmer said he was considering offering ticket packages that would allow passengers to experience all three classes during a typical six-day Atlantic crossing.

Prices for the tickets will be announced later.

Presented by Adam Justice