Titanic replica to set sail in 2018

A full-size replica of the ill-fated RMS Titanic ship will set sail in 2018, two years behind schedule.

After years of development, Australian billionaire Clive Palmer announced that the Titanic II -- which is being created in the image of history's most famous cruise liner -- will set sail in two years' time, a little more than a century after its predecessor made its maiden voyage across the North Atlantic Ocean.

The new Titanic is being built to mirror the Belfast liner which infamously sank after hitting an iceberg in April 1912. But with a few modifications.

To meet modern maritime safety regulations, the vessel will measure 4 m wider and the hull will be welded, not riveted, reported The Belfast Telegraph.

When complete, the Titanic II will measure 270 m long, 53 m high, and weigh 40,000 tons.

Palmer announced plans to recreate the ship with his Blue Star Line in April 2012, a hundred years after the sinking of passenger liner. At the time, the business tycoon said the ship would sail in 2016.

Like its predecessor, the Titanic II will have three cabin classes. The ship will span nine floors and be able to carry 2,400 passengers. Other features will include Turkish baths, swimming pool and gymnasium.

Instead of Southampton to New York, however, the ship's maiden voyage will be between Jiangsu, China, where it's being built, to Dubai.

SOURCE: euronews