MichaelMacleod
Member
Hello, I’ve been reading ET for years but this is my first post. Please forgive me if any of this has already been covered previously.
I’ve always been interested in the concept of a Titanic replica. I believe the closest thing we’ll ever get to it is the Honor and Glory game in the works (working in the games industry myself I’m blown away by the work that small team has done)
In terms of the real deal though specifically a fully functional rebuild of the ship Clive Palmers Titanic II was a non-starter. To be honest I’m somewhat glad of this as I feel the proposed extra lifeboat deck, welds instead of rivets and changes to the stern would have broken the allure that the beautiful lines of the original Olympic class liners had. Likewise the landlocked Chinese replica under construction seems to be shaping up as a pale shadow.
Obviously this is deep into the hypothetical but I have been wondering for a while if the following would ever be remotely possible in a legal sense:
- Spend several billion building a precise replica of the Titanic with the same construction techniques, riveted hull, slide launch, the works.
- When I say precise replica I mean it. Coal fired boilers, watertight compartments only to E deck, twenty wooden lifeboats, only a Marconi transmission set onboard. Absolutely nothing modern, no radar or other advanced Bridge electronics, no passenger WiFi, etc. This would be in the truest sense an exact replica of the original Titanic as she was in April 1912.
- The sole alteration would be that the replica is provisioned with modern orange life jackets as opposed to the white 1912 versions.
The plan from here would be more or less the same as Clive Palmers. Modern tourists could buy passage on the ship in any of the three classes leaving modern life behind for a week. This replica however would operate exactly as the original with a full crew of stokers and trimmers onboard with passengers able to explore the entire working ship. I’d run it along its original Atlantic route instead of Palmers China to Dubai.
Obviously this replica would never get past the Safety of Lives At Sea legislation that the Titanic disaster helped create. In order to circle the authenticity versus safety issue what I’d propose is that while this 1912 replica is being built it’s operators would also build a smaller completely modern SOLAS compliant escort ship entirely focused on safety. It could even include a couple of retractable gangways for rapid embarkation.
This safety escort ship (Carpaithia springs to mind as a name for her) would shadow the replica Titanic at all times no more than a mile away with the Titanics Bridge crew in constant radio contact with her. The escort would use its modern equipment to plot both ships course and communicate with other shipping in real time. In the event of any real danger such as an approaching storm the Titanic Replica passengers would be transferred to the more spartan escort ship which would still have enough berths and provisions to keep everyone comfortable for the duration of the voyage if necessary. Meanwhile a skeleton crew would continue to man the Titanic replica. The escort could even bring the Titanic replica into tow if ever needed.
While I believe this two ship solution could actually be financial viable offering a relatively safe method to experience a 100% authentic voyage on a century old ship it would still be unlikely to ever get past SOLAS as a passenger carrying venture. I remember reading the Queen Mary 2 received an exemption from the maritime safety board to mount her lifeboats higher up on the hull but this is in a different league of ‘exemption’
I was wondering if there would be any legal ways around this such as having passengers on the replica sign a disclaimer or have the replica registered as a navy ship exempting it from SOLAS regulation like the Americans wooden frigate USS Constitution. I expect a lot of people would be willing to sign any sort of waiver to get a voyage on a legitimate Olympic class liner.
Anyway this concept is probably full of holes but I thought it might be interesting to share.
I’ve always been interested in the concept of a Titanic replica. I believe the closest thing we’ll ever get to it is the Honor and Glory game in the works (working in the games industry myself I’m blown away by the work that small team has done)
In terms of the real deal though specifically a fully functional rebuild of the ship Clive Palmers Titanic II was a non-starter. To be honest I’m somewhat glad of this as I feel the proposed extra lifeboat deck, welds instead of rivets and changes to the stern would have broken the allure that the beautiful lines of the original Olympic class liners had. Likewise the landlocked Chinese replica under construction seems to be shaping up as a pale shadow.
Obviously this is deep into the hypothetical but I have been wondering for a while if the following would ever be remotely possible in a legal sense:
- Spend several billion building a precise replica of the Titanic with the same construction techniques, riveted hull, slide launch, the works.
- When I say precise replica I mean it. Coal fired boilers, watertight compartments only to E deck, twenty wooden lifeboats, only a Marconi transmission set onboard. Absolutely nothing modern, no radar or other advanced Bridge electronics, no passenger WiFi, etc. This would be in the truest sense an exact replica of the original Titanic as she was in April 1912.
- The sole alteration would be that the replica is provisioned with modern orange life jackets as opposed to the white 1912 versions.
The plan from here would be more or less the same as Clive Palmers. Modern tourists could buy passage on the ship in any of the three classes leaving modern life behind for a week. This replica however would operate exactly as the original with a full crew of stokers and trimmers onboard with passengers able to explore the entire working ship. I’d run it along its original Atlantic route instead of Palmers China to Dubai.
Obviously this replica would never get past the Safety of Lives At Sea legislation that the Titanic disaster helped create. In order to circle the authenticity versus safety issue what I’d propose is that while this 1912 replica is being built it’s operators would also build a smaller completely modern SOLAS compliant escort ship entirely focused on safety. It could even include a couple of retractable gangways for rapid embarkation.
This safety escort ship (Carpaithia springs to mind as a name for her) would shadow the replica Titanic at all times no more than a mile away with the Titanics Bridge crew in constant radio contact with her. The escort would use its modern equipment to plot both ships course and communicate with other shipping in real time. In the event of any real danger such as an approaching storm the Titanic Replica passengers would be transferred to the more spartan escort ship which would still have enough berths and provisions to keep everyone comfortable for the duration of the voyage if necessary. Meanwhile a skeleton crew would continue to man the Titanic replica. The escort could even bring the Titanic replica into tow if ever needed.
While I believe this two ship solution could actually be financial viable offering a relatively safe method to experience a 100% authentic voyage on a century old ship it would still be unlikely to ever get past SOLAS as a passenger carrying venture. I remember reading the Queen Mary 2 received an exemption from the maritime safety board to mount her lifeboats higher up on the hull but this is in a different league of ‘exemption’
I was wondering if there would be any legal ways around this such as having passengers on the replica sign a disclaimer or have the replica registered as a navy ship exempting it from SOLAS regulation like the Americans wooden frigate USS Constitution. I expect a lot of people would be willing to sign any sort of waiver to get a voyage on a legitimate Olympic class liner.
Anyway this concept is probably full of holes but I thought it might be interesting to share.
