Titanic II is a proposed modern day replica of the original RMS Titanic and it will have a gross tonnage of 56,000 which is 10,000 more than the original which had 46,000.
In April 2012, an Australian billionaire Clive Palmer announced that the Titanic II would be the flagship for a cruise company called Blue Star Line in Brisbane, Australia.
The initial launch date was to be 2016 with it setting sail from Southampton to New York in the same year, however in 2015 the launch date for Titanic II was changed to 2018. In February 2016 the Dailymail reported that Titanic II will not take the same route on its maiden voyage, however. Instead of a transatlantic crossing, it will sail from Jiangsu, China, to Dubai.
There will be one difference between the two ships and that is Palmer is installing a safety deck and he described this particular deck as "It's a safety deck full of Atlantic-class life boats with tops on them so that whatever happens you will survive in the sea and they all have their own power. We have an extra capacity of 700 normal lifeboats on top than we actually need, which is the same as the original Titanic."
This project has been meet with criticism due to the insensitivity of it. Cunard Line which in 1934 merged with White Star Line (the owners of the original Titanic) stated that "have always been very mindful and very respectful of such a tragic event [and] don't think that building a replica or a 'II' is appropriate."
