Titanic II, a replica of the 1912 ill-fated
ocean liner expected to set sail in 2017, will have almost the same
design as the original including a third-class with shared bathrooms and
even a symbolic "delousing". Billionaire Australian MP Clive Palmer,
who announced his intention to build the Titanic II in 2012, has said he
is determined to press ahead with the project. However, he faces a
minor problem with how to lure paying passengers into the infamous
steerage section of the famous liner. Turning it into a marketing
strategy, Palmer has come up with "Roughing it on the Titanic" as his
sales pitch ahead of the ship's maiden commercial voyage from
Southampton to New York in 2017, Australian news portal news.com.au
reported. He has to convince up to 1000 cruise ship passengers to live
on stew and potatoes while dancing the Irish jig as he fine-tunes plans
to relaunch the Titanic. Palmer's new role as federal member for
Fairfax has not dimmed his enthusiasm for recreating the world's most
famous liner in a shipyard in China. Tanks tests have been completed in
Denmark showing the Titanic II's fundamentals are robust while cabins
design is well advanced and therein lies a problem, the report said. To
be true to the original design the first class cabins will boast an
opulence long gone from the cruise industry, which can no longer make a
commercial return on mahogany-lined mini-mansions, it said. "First
class on the Titanic was truly unbelievable, second class was like our
first class and third class - well third class was really third class,"
Palmer was quoted as saying. Hundreds of cabins below the waterline
will replicate the cramped quarters of the mainly Irish immigrants who
sailed on the doomed maiden voyage in 1912. Palmer has made concessions
to the 20th century in the ship's design but remains adamant that
everything on board is a faithful reproduction. He has even got hold of
the training manuals for silver service waiters who will be required to
serve vegetables in a prescribed manner. Those rules also require the
third class passengers to be deloused, the practice of ridding a person
of lice by physical or chemical means, when they get to New York. "And
they will be deloused...We might spray them with a hose full of confetti
but they will have to have the experience," Palmer said. The wreck of
the first ocean liner killed 1,502 of the 2,200 passengers and crew, and
became an international sensation. The new vessel, according to Palmer,
will have more than enough lifeboats.
Congress leader Manishankar Aiyar attracted opposition BJP's ire today in Rajya Sabha when he said he was not interested in listening to speech of a BJP member on vote on account, prompting the Chair to adjourn the House amid uproar. During the Zero Hour, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien allowed Aiyar, who wanted to ask a question, to do so, which was opposed by BJP members. Kurien asked Aiyar whether he yielded to allow others to speak, to which he said he had no objection and he can ask his question later. As the House got ready to initiate discussion on Vote on Account, Kurien said, "Let us reduce the discussion to two hours from four hours," which was opposed by BJP members including Piyush Goyal who was given a chance to speak on Vote on Account. When it was agreed that discussion will take place as per schedule, Aiyar remarked he was not interested in listening to the speech by BJP member. "You had given me the chance to ask a question
Comments
Post a Comment