If the Titanic was the ship that was meant to be unsinkable, the Titanic II is the idea that seems to be un-killable.

Six years after Australian mining magnate Clive Palmer declared he was going to build a replica of the Titanic, and three years after he had to suspend work on the project due to money troubles, Palmer has announced that work on the project will start up again.

Building the boat – which will have the same interiors and cabin layout as the original vessel, complete with ballroom and Turkish baths, with reports passengers will be given period costumes to wear – has been a long-held dream of Palmer, an Australian businessman and conservative politician.

There has been a flurry of interest in the project after Palmer said last week that Blue Star Line headquarters would be moved from London to Paris due to Brexit.

Last month he announced that building would restart and said that when ready the ship would follow the original planned route of the first Titanic.

“The ship will follow the original journey, carrying passengers from Southampton to New York, but she will also circumnavigate the globe, inspiring and enchanting people while attracting unrivalled attention, intrigue and mystery in every port she visits,” he said.

“Millions have dreamt of sailing on her, seeing her in port and experiencing her unique majesty. Titanic II will be the ship where those dreams come true.”

However, there are signs that those who subscribe to the Titanic II fantasy should not hold their breath.

The project was first announced in 2012 but has faced years of delays, with work suspended in 2015 after a payment dispute between one of Palmer’s companies and Chinese company Citic starved the project of funds.

Screengrab from promotional video showing plans for the Titanic II. Photograph: Clive Palmer

In 2017 the West Australian supreme court ruled that Citic must pay hundreds of millions of dollars in back royalty payments to Palmer’s company. The ruling cleared the way for Palmer to continue with his pet project.

Though it has been widely reported that the boat is set to launch its maiden voyage in 2022, a spokesperson for Blue Star Line, the company behind the Titanic II project, confirmed to the Guardian that no dates had been announced yet, building work had not commenced and that ship builders were yet to be contracted.

“Work has commenced to engage with ship builders. Once DD [due diligence] is completed we will announce conclusive building and voyage timelines,” said the spokesperson.

The announcement has caused amusement on social media, with questions raised about the ship’s stock of lifeboats (the company says there will more than enough for the more than 2,000 passengers and crew), with one Twitter user joking: “I’d like to curate the guest list.”

Skepticism about whether the Titanic II will ever set out to sea has existed since the project was first announced, particularly among those familiar with Palmer’s other business ventures, which include a much-derided dinosaur park in Coolum, Queensland, called Palmersaurus, which 33% of people on Trip Advisor reviewed as being “terrible”.

Clive Palmer Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Palmer was elected as a member of parliament in 2013, serving one term as an MP before disbanding his party, the Palmer United Party, in 2017. The party was rebranded the United Australia party, and Palmer has announced he will once again stand for parliament, paying for billboards across the country which show him under the slogan “Make Australia great”.

The press release announcing that work on the Titanic II trumpeted Palmer’s contribution to the Australian economy, saying his projects and companies were responsible for creating over 60,000 jobs in the country over the last 30 years. But the Titanic II is unlikely to add to that number, with a spokesperson saying “The ship will most likely be built in the Northern Hemisphere. Our DD [due diligence] will guide us on that decision.”

Palmer faces competition to get his Titanic II launched before another replica of the ill-fated vessel is completed. A second Titanic II is being built in a theme park in China’s Sichuan Province, where it will remain.

After global coverage of the resumption of work on the Titanic II on Wednesday, the website for Blue Star Line was forced offline. An employee said the website had been “attacked by bots” and had to be taken down.