Australian billionaire and chairman of Blue Star Line shipping company, Clive Palmer, discusses plans for the company's planned Titanic II cruise ship at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City in 2013. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

A replica of the infamous Titanic cruise ship, known as Titanic II, is set to sail in 2018. Image courtesy of Titanic II - Blue Star Line/YouTube

MELBOURNE, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- A replica of the infamous Titanic cruise ship is set to sail in 2018.

The ship known as "Titanic II" was originally planned to set sail in 2016, but a spokesman for Australian billionaire Clive Palmer, who owns the company developing the ship, said its maiden voyage has been delayed.


Palmer and the shipping company Blue Star Line have designed the ship to exactly resemble the original, which sank after colliding with an iceberg in 1912 during its first cruise.

While it doesn't deviate from the original visually, Titanic II will be 4 meters wider than the original and have a welded hull in keeping with modern safety standards.

"The new Titanic will of course have modern evacuation procedures, satellite controls, digital navigation and radar systems and all those things you'd expect on a 21st century ship," Blue Star Line global marketing director James McDonald told the Belfast Telegraph.

The ship's maiden voyage will depart from Jiangsu, China, for Dubai and will carry 2,400 passengers and 900 crew members on the nine-floor, 840-cabin vessel.

Three tiers of tickets will be offered, as they were on the original Titanic, including first-, second- and third-class tickets. Blue Star Line has reported offers as high as $928,76 for a chance to sail on the ship.