Rose and Jack, meet Clive: Billionaire launches plan to refloat modern version of the Titanic

WATCH: Setting sail in 2027, Clive Palmer says his new luxury ship will not just offer a great cruise but possibly help bring the world together.

It’s not quite the Love Boat, but Clive Palmer still believes in the power of cruise ships to bring people together.

Or, at least in the power of Titanic II, which the Queensland billionaire — estimated net worth $23 billion, “give or take 10 or 15 per cent” — recommitted to building at an Opera House news conference Wednesday morning.

Palmer’s plans to build a modern version of the Titanic, which famously sank in 1912 with a loss of 1517 lives, have been announced and re-announced several times since the idea was first laid out in 2013.

Palmer said the ship would offer “a journey back in time” when it makes its first planned crossing sometime in 2027.

Billionaire Clive Palmer announces his plans in Sydney on Wednesday. Picture: Rohan Kelly

But, speaking to a pack of journalists who had moments before been treated to a promotional video set to the strains of The Blue Danube, Palmer said his new Titanic was not just about recreating the world of “Rose and Jack” that so many people know from the movie.

No, more than that, the project was about giving hope to a troubled planet.

“We hope that this vessel will be something that can bring the world together in a more positive outlook that we’re facing today.”

“And it brings all the countries of the countries of the world in a more positive outlook that we’re facing today, as well as a return to the values that we’ve stood for in the West, in particular.”

Clive Palmer has recommited to building the Titanic II, seen here in a render. Picture: AP Photo/Blue Star Line

First-class dining on the Titanic.

Ticking off conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and other potential flashpoints, Palmer sounded one part mystic, one part arch capitalist as he suggested that the unifying vision of Titanic II could bring people together.

“Making wars is pretty easy … but you know, making peace is a lot harder,” Palmer said.

In relaunching the project, which is estimated to cost around $1 billion and see the 269 metre long vessel built in European shipyards, Palmer also made no apologies for a ship that if it comes off will be as different as can be imagined to the party ships of Richard Branson.

Stills from a video promoting Palmer’s vision of the ship evoke the values of the original Titanic. Photo: Supplied

The ship will be divided between first, second, and third class cabins, and if the promotional video is anything to go by it will be heavy on wood panelling and dressing for dinner.

The ship will be “a statement of values,” Palmer reiterated.

While this second Titanic will be built to the highest safety standards, Palmer said the original Titanic resonated in time because the story embodied “courage, resilience, service.”

“I think they’re the things we’re missing today … we remember the musicians who played Nearer My God To Thee as the ship sunk.”

“What was important for people was not saving themselves, but serving others.”

A rendered version of the grand staircase on Titanic II. Picture: AP Photo/Blue Star Line

Prices for the maiden voyage from Southampton to New York have not been set yet, but Palmer said there is already an abundance of interest and that tickets might be “auctioned” off.

Along the way, Palmer also said that Ralph Babet, the sole representative of his United Australia Party, was doing a great job, and that whether or not his political spending won him seats in parliament, he was still influencing the debate.

The same sort of optimism suggests why, in Palmer’s mind, the future is bright for Titanic II.

Recalling an earlier time he launched the Titanic II project in New York, he said the told guests at the event, “you will be able to say one time that you were here, when it all began, you’ll be able to tell your children that when the Titanic sails up the Hudson River to New York Harbour, that you were there at the beginning.”

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