The nutty tycoon who’s building a replica of the Titanic, in his own words

Clive Palmer, an Australian mining tycoon, has explained the motivation behind his plans to construct a replica of the Titanic in a rambling, comical video address.

The ship, which is currently being constructed at the Jinling Shipyard in China, “will be a ship of peace”, he said. “We will complete the journey. We will sail into New York. On the ship that they designed. That they envisaged.”

The original vessel, which sank in 1912, killing 1,523 passengers and crew, “represents the spirit of man. The spirit of love. The hope that all men have for peace on earth in our time and goodwill to all men,” according to Mr Palmer.

“Titanic comes from a time when the world was different. When there was a different culture, different ways of living. When people worked with each other more. And as James Cameron reminds us… my heart will go on.”

He concludes with further references to the Academy Award-winning film: “By learning from the lessons of the past, the spirit of Rose and Jack… lives in all of us.”

The full transcript:

Why build the Titanic? Why go to the moon? Why do the Yankees play the Red Sox? Why did Christopher Columbus discover the Americas? Because they could, and they can, and we can build the Titanic.

We can bring to life the vision of so many people. Artisans, artists, musicians, designers, seaman, stewards, men, women and children, who sailed on the Titanic. We can remember who we are and where we come from. Titanic comes from a time when the world was different. When there was a different culture, different ways of living, when people worked with each other more. And as James Cameron reminds us my heart will go on.

All of us have gone on in love, in the love we have for each other and the love that goes into our children. Our love goes out to the families of the Titanic. What we can do this time is to stand for what they once stood for. We will complete the journey. We will sail into New York. On the ship that they designed. That they envisaged.

Titanic represents the spirit of man. The spirit of love. The hope that all men have for peace on earth in our time and goodwill to all men. As a man of peace once said, we all know how to make war, but few of us know how to make peace. It’s hard, you have to be persistent. Progress comes slowly, inch by inch, we can bring together nations and goodwill, you know you have to stick at it, you have to stay with it.

The Titanic II will be a ship of peace, it will sail from China to Southampton, from Southampton to New York, from New York to Southampton. Linking three continents, carrying the hopes and dreams of people everywhere, it represents the reconciliation of man, the hopes of many for a better life, and for a better future. That’s what the original Titanic was all about.

By learning from the lessons of the past, the spirit of Rose and Jack, Romeo and Juliet, lives in all of us. The spirit of life, the spirit of love, to dream the impossible dream, all of us live in time, this is our moment, this is our turn to board Titanic II and set sail on a new sea, of our own making.

The Titanic was a ship of dreams, Titanic II is the ship where dreams will come true.