Tag Archives: Titanic II

Titanic News: Titanic Copycats that Have Sunk, Marconi First Radio Broadcast, and Titanic Cake Divides Internet

 

Like the SS Pendleton, it appears the Titanic replicas have sunk too.

The Titanic Copy-Cats That Have Been As Ill-Fated As The Original Ship (Belfast Telegraph, 16 May 2022)

But whatever happened to the two full-size replicas, the projects for which were ‘launched’ years ago in Australia and China? Have they turned out to be as ill-fated as the original ship? The short answer is yes. Reports in Australia suggest that Palmer has got cold feet over his vanity project’s Edwardian-period details and colonial-era elegance which, frankly, are not in keeping with prospective passengers’ modern-day cruise ship expectations. At least work actually started on the ‘other’ full-scale Titanic replica at the Romandisea Seven Star International Culture Tourism Resort and theme park in China’s Sichuan Province. The £150m project itself, however, looks sunk. For ‘Unsinkable’, read ‘unsustainable’. There was an audible gasp in the room, however, when Seven Star boss Su Shaojun revealed that a replica iceberg would also be built, to help ‘simulate’ what was, in 1912, an unparalleled maritime disaster. Needless to say, this didn’t go down particularly well, especially here. Former Belfast Lord Mayor Jim Rodgers, whose grandfather had worked on the Titanic, told the Belfast Telegraph the idea was “disgraceful and shameful.” Actor Bernard Hill, who played Captain Edward Smith in the 1997 movie and took part in the Hong Kong launch, initially rejected suggestions that the replica iceberg idea was inappropriate but later regretted his involvement in the project.

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This New ‘Titanic’ Expedition Will Take You Down to the Legendary Shipwreck Before It Disappears Entirely (Robb Report, 13 May 2022)

The 2022 Titanic Expedition will start on June 15. There are a limited number of openings for this year’s missions and a spot will set you back $250,000. Aspiring mission specialists can contact OceanGate Expeditions for additional info. Oh, and there’s another expedition slated for next year if you miss out.

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The only picture of the Marconi radio room onboard the Titanic. Harold Bride is seated at his station. Photo was taken by Father Francis Browne, SJ, while aboard Titanic.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

Marconi’s First Radio Broadcast Made 125 Years Ago
(BBC, 13 May 2022)

On 13 May 1897, Guglielmo Marconi sent the world’s first radio message across open water, and he did it while visiting a seaside resort in Somerset. Marconi came to Weston-super-Mare looking to experiment with what he called “telegraphy without wires” – known to us now as radio. He was initially interested in contacting ships, but his work led to a communications revolution. It paved the way for the radio and television broadcasts that we take for granted today.

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Child’s ‘Inappropriate’ Birthday Cake Divides The Internet
(Honey Parenting, 13 May 2022)

An internet user took to the popular Mumsnet Talk forum this week to share an image of a child’s birthday cake and ask others if they thought it was inappropriate. The elaborate cake features a model of the Titanic ship split in two and sinking into the blue cake that depicts the North Atlantic Ocean. Nearby are fondant icebergs, as well as a ticket and a boarding pass. On close inspection, it appears the cake is for a child turning five, as the words, “Titanic 5th Birthday Tehl” are written on the ticket, while the name “Tehl” also appears on the boarding pass.

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Titanic lost: Belfast Telegraph front page on 16 April 1912
Source: Belfast Telegraph

Chilling Video Shows What Sinking On The Titanic Would Really Look Like (Newsweek, 12 May 2022)

A haunting video showing what passengers and crew members aboard the Titanic may have experienced as the doomed luxury liner sank has gone viral on TikTok, amassing more than 3 million views. The clip, which appears to be the second part of a series, was shared by @titanichistory1912, a content creator whose account is dedicated to videos about the Titanic. “What the lighting would have really looked like,” read the text over the clip.

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International Ice Patrol: Remembering The Titanic 110 Years Later
(Homeland Security Today, 12 Mar 2022)

This trip also included an additional mission, honoring the lives lost during the Titanic tragedy by participating in a ceremony commemorating the 110th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The crew’s first stop was in Halifax to kick off the multi-mission patrol. They were greeted by the welcoming faces of the Titanic Society of Atlantic Canada at the Local Women’s Council house. A sense of melancholy and reverence filled the room as the events of the Titanic were revisited.

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Yes Virginia, Titanic was a real ship that sank in 1912 with over 1,500 people who died.

10 People Who Literally Didn’t Know the Titanic Was A Real Ship
(Twisted Sifter, 6 May 2022)

You know with all the hoopla about Titanic over the years-the books, movies and ongoing debates-it is hard to imagine anyone who does not know it was a real ship. In fact, I bet it was the source of some jokes making fun of people who knew nothing about Titanic. Turns out that many in fact had no idea the film was based on a real historical event. If the posts shown in the article are to be believed (and I have no reason to think not), it shows how fallen history has dropped out of education these days and replaced by other things.

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And just for fun….

Titanic sails away with €4,300 in Kilmallock
(Irish Farmers Journal, 9 May 2022)

Adam Woods reports from the Irish Angus Munster branch sale held in Kilmallock mart, Co Limerick, at the weekend.


Titanic News: Titanic Conspiracy?; Titanic II, and Jewish Titanic Passengers

 

Collapsible lifeboat D photographed by passenger on Carpathia on the morning of 15 April 1912.
Public Domain(Wikipedia)

House Belonging To A Titanic Survivor Still Stands In Toronto
BlogTO, 4 Sept 2021

There’s a house still standing in Toronto where a Titanic survivor and her family used to live during the 1920’s. Emma Bliss lived at 1063 Davenport Road in 1923, according to Encyclopedia Titanica, a crowdsourced community-based project that’s been collecting research on the Titanic for 25 years.

Titanic Conspiracy Theory Claims the Ship Never Sank
Greek Reporter, 3 Sept 2021The Titanic never sank, claims one of the foremost –among the many– conspiracy theories about major world events. Almost a century after the naval tragedy, the far-fetched proposition presents the argument that the historic ship never sank and instead its sister ocean liner was wrecked in its place.

Bow section of tanker SS Pendleton grounded near Pollock Rib lightship six miles off Chatham, Mass on the morning of Feb. 19, 1952.
Photo:Public Domain (U.S. Coast Guard)

Titanic II Might Sink Before It Sails
The Signal, 31 Aug 2021

Construction on the ship, which could cost over $1 billion, still had not begun. Again, the 2018 launch date passed with little word from Blue Star Line. Despite years of setbacks, many media outlets reported that Titanic II would finally sail in 2022. In a 2020 interview, Palmer stated that Blue Star Line had yet to select a launch date. Still, he insisted that Blue Star Line continues to work on the project. “The response has been incredible,” he said, with the company receiving over 30,000 expressions of interest. One hopeful guest, he added, offered over $1 million for a first-class cabin.

 

Titanic Museum – Branson, MO
Public Domain (Wikimedia Commons)

Titanic Connections: Branson Museum Honors Jewish Passengers, Remembers Holocaust
Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 29 Aug 2021

One connection involved the Strauses. As research revealed, the Strauses’ nephew, Nathan, was a college friend of Anne Frank’s father, Otto Frank, when they were students at Heidelburg University in Germany, Kellogg says. “In 1909, Nathan Straus Jr. convinced his father to invite Otto Frank to New York to work at Macy’s,” the story continues. “Otto’s father encouraged this, believing it would be a good opportunity to practice English and learn about foreign commerce before Otto joined the family banking business in Frankfurt.”
Frank came to New York in September 1909 and returned to Germany in 1911, after his father’s death. Straus and Frank remained friends, even vacationing with their families in Switzerland in 1928, and when Frank needed help to try to get his family out of Holland in 1941, he wrote to Nathan Straus Jr. The families lost contact in November 1941, and Frank’s family went into hiding in July 1942

Titanic Tours: What To Know About These Underwater Excursions
The Travel, 25 Aug 2021

It’s safe to say that when an iceberg pierced the Titanic on its maiden voyage just over 100 years ago, no one was thinking about turning the shipwreck into a tourist attraction. But now, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the sinking, some travel companies are offering tours of the site. Visitors can take an expensive excursion or they can simply look on Google, where the wreck is pictured in all its rustic, 3-D glory.

Teacher, 31, Spends Eight Weeks Building Lego Replica Of The Titanic Using 25,000 Bricks That Capture Every Detail Of The Doomed Ship – As Well As The Iceberg
Daily Mail, 20 Aug 21

A Lego-mad teacher has built a replica of the Titanic, using 25,000 bricks to capture every detail of the doomed liner – right down to the iceberg which sealed its fate.


Titanic News: Titanic Lego Set, Titanic II?

 

Titanic at Cobh Harbor, 11 April 1912
Public Domain (Cobh Heritage Centre, Cobh, Ireland)

LEGO Titanic Set Rumoured For 2021 Release (Brick Fanatics, 21 Jan 2021)

An official LEGO recreation of the Titanic may be on the way later in 2021, according to a new rumour. Eurobricks user VanIslandLego told YouTuber Brother From Another Brick that the second half of 2021 will see the release of a LEGO Titanic set. The same user was apparently responsible for the first rumours around 10274 Ghostbusters ECTO-1 and 10276 Colosseum, lending some veracity to the report.

Titanic Fans Around The World In Awe Of Consett Schoolboy’s Snow Sculpture (ChronicleLive, 21 Jan 2021)

“Awesome” and “fantastic” are just some of the words used to describe a County Durham schoolboy’s snow sculpture after it went viral on social media. During last week’s snow fall, six-year-old Lewis Maddick used his day off from school to create a replica of the Titanic. His recreation of the historical ship was so impressive it immediately attracted attention when his mum Fiona shared a picture of it on Facebook. And fellow Titanic-fanatics were in awe of the snow ship when a Titanic museum in America shared Lewis’ work on their Facebook page, Titanic Museum Attraction.

Titanic II?

There have been some news articles of late about Titanic II sailing in 2022. The Standard recently reported it was back on again. It pointed to a posting on Facebook but the Facebook page most recent posting is 2 Feb 2020 where Palmer says to await further announcements later in the year about Titanic II. A check of the Blue Star Line website shows the latest news was from 2018 on CNN where the article states it will launch in 2022. What this looks like is recycling old news or making old news looking like new. So it looks like there is nothing to report here.


Wrapping Up 2020

Happy New Year (publicdomainpictures.net)
Photo: Larisa Koshkina

Another year gone. Hard to believe it but 2020 is all but over except for those December bills that are paid in January. The year started out fine with just some worry about an infectious disease that was appearing overseas. At first there was concern but nothing extraordinary. Then it began to spread in Europe fast. Called eventually Covid-19, this infectious disease spread quickly. Soon lockdowns in Europe began and then elsewhere. The disease would not always kill but could really knock you down. Nations and economies came to a standstill. Most businesses were shuttered, offices went remote, and the streets empty.

For Titanic, the news was indeed mixed. Titanic came in and out of the news over the desire to retrieve the Marconi radio from Titanic. This means going into the wreck to retrieve it for posterity before it is lost forever. On one hand, the argument to preserve for posterity is persuasive. Those opposed to salvage questioned the need to retrieve the Marconi radio. The judge in the end authorized the retrieval. Then the U.S. government stepped in and said the proposed salvage violated the Titanic treaty. The case is now on appeal and any salvage may be held up until it is resolved.

Titanic II, the proposed replica of Titanic and brainchild of Australian billionaire Clive Palmer, has likely been delayed again. A few years back and with great fanfare, Palmer announced his desire to build this ship. The formed a company, did some preliminary work, and then building was scheduled to begin at a shipyard in China. And then it went quiet and no one could confirm any shipbuilding was being done. Palmer also got into a spat with China during this time that may have affected the proposed construction. So Titanic II missed its original scheduled sailing for the simple fact construction never began. More time passed and then word came out that once again the ship construction was back on. And a new sailing schedule was released. And then, once again quiet. Perhaps because of Covid-19 or other reasons, it looks like once again Titanic II is not yet ready to be sailing soon.

Sadly, due to Covid-19 shutdowns, many Titanic attractions were shuttered. A few have reopened according to local health guidelines. Belfast Titanic shut down just after Christmas and is scheduled to reopen on 7 Jan 2021. That is, of course, conditioned on whether the current shutdown orders are extended or not. Both Titanic Branson and Titanic Pigeon Forge were open for the holidays but now closed for renovations. They are both scheduled to reopen in January. Masks required.

I want to wish everyone out there a Happy, Blessed, and Joyous New Year. May all your dreams come true in 2021.

Mark Taylor
Editor, Titanic News Channel

TITANIC NEWS FOR CHRISTMAS EVE

Safeguarding The RMS Titanic’s Final Resting Place (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 19 Dec 2019)

Last month the United States officially completed the acceptance process for the agreement and it is officially in force.  The agreement furthers the ability of the United States and the United Kingdom to minimize threats to the integrity of the Titanic wreck site and its remaining artifacts. It is intended to keep the artifacts together and intact in a manner allowing for public access. The United States and the United Kingdom hope that other nations will join the agreement in order to broaden cooperative efforts to protect the Titanic

At this point it is rather moot. There have already been several expeditions to Titanic that brought up artifacts along with survey expeditions to examine the wreck. Additionally you have tourists that dive nearby to see the wreck (for a handsome sum of money). The company that did the salvage operations is no longer doing this and focused on exhibitions for the most part (though they are trying to sell the collection but the price is so astronomically high that is hard to find buyers). It sounds nice but several decades too late for some who wanted the wreck protected from the start.

Inside the Titanic II, a close replica of the 1912 Titanic cruise liner that could set sail in 2022 (MSN, 16 Dec 2019)

Slideshow of what Titanic II will look like compared to the original along with historical and other information. Not much that people have not seen before but interesting to view. Although there has been some buzz about this project now going forward, there really is nothing new to report. No keel has been laid and no one can confirm that a shipyard is actually starting construction, just that it is on again now for 2022. The Chinese are building their own replica that will be docked in a theme park (it has come under criticism for wanting to have a simulated sinking that many thought distasteful).


With Christmas now just a day away, many are getting ready for welcoming Christmas Day. One of the most well-known Christmas songs is Silent Night. A simple melody that spread across many borders and sung in many languages. The movie The Nativity Story had its own version composed by Mychael Danna. It is heard at the end of the movie and is quite stirring on its own. It is sung in Latin but constructed to make it comport to the melody that is so beloved today. You can listen to it on YouTube here:

In case you are wondering about the lyrics, here they are:

Silens Nox (Latin)
Silens nox et sacra
Pastores tremisco
Caelis indicat gloria
Canunt Angeli alleluia
Christus natus est
Christus natus est.

English
Silent Night
Silent and holy night
Shepherds tremble
At heaven’s glorious sight
Angels sing, “Hallelujah!”
Christ is born.
Christ is born.

Translation by Josh(SilentRebel83) at http://lyricstranslate.com/en/silens-nox-silent-night.html.

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve everyone.

CLIVE PALMER’S TITANIC BACK ON TRACK?; RMS TITANIC INC PARTNERS FOR EXHIBITION IN CHERBOURG

Postcard of the Titanic found in a book donated to Books for Amnesty, 103 Gloucester Rd, Bristol UK
Source: Bristol Post
Date: 20/07/2016
Photographer: Michael Lloyd/Freelance
Reporter: Lewis Pennock
Copyright: Local World

Titanic II Project Charters Course For 2022 After Court Ruling (Daily Stock Dish, 24 Nov 2019)

However, three years after the project was announced financial disputes between Palmer and the Chinese shipyard owners CITIC stalled the project indefinitely. This was until a court ruling in September last year by the Supreme Court of West Australia told the shipyard to repay $150m to the project, enough to refloat the titanic building project. There are mixed reports as to whether construction is already underway, with little detail as to location or new project deadlines with 2022 being the latest prediction.

E/M Group and RMS Titanic, Inc. to Partner with La Cité de la Mer in Cherbourg, France (PR Newswire, 12 Nov 2019)

E/M Group and its affiliate, RMS Titanic, Inc., announced today that it will collaborate with La Cité de la Mer in Cherbourg, France on a series of research and exhibition projects regarding Titanic and its passengers. In addition, the partnership will include a specially curated exhibition, highlighting numerous artifacts recovered from the wreck of Titanic that have never been seen before in France. Slated to open in spring of 2020, the exhibition will appear in La Cite de la Mer’s Titanic permanent exhibition.

New titanic Mural in Belfast and Titanic II In 2022

New “Titanic” Mural Unveiled at Titanic Belfast (Travel Agent Central, 29 May 2019)
The mural is a collaboration between local artists Terry Bradley and Friz, and it aims to attract crowds by shining a spotlight on the city’s history, as well as its contemporary art movement. The recreation of Terry Bradley’s “Docker’s Rest” is located at Hickson’s Point, Titanic Belfast’s newest shipyard-themed hospitality space, which serves up traditional music, food and drink for locals and visitors alike. The mural is appropriately placed, as it depicts men from the Sailortown and the docks, and it showcases Belfast’s maritime heritage as well as the city’s traditions of murals and hospitality.
https://www.travelagentcentral.com/destinations/new-terry-bradley-and-friz-mural-unveiled-at-titanic-belfast

Model maker builds 8ft Titanic in his dining room (Bolton News, 31 May 2019)
Martin Barton’s eight-foot model of The Titanic, which is on display in his Mackenzie Street home, is causing curious passers-by to ring on his bell asking to take a closer look. “Only this morning a woman who was taking her young son to school came in to have a look. The little lad was so amazed that he was jumping up and down with excitement,” said Mr Barton, 79.
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/17675988.titanic-achievement-is-a-tourist-attraction/

Titanic II is sailing in 2022 and will follow the same route as the original ship (Belfast Live,25 May 2019)
Titanic II, a ship from Australian company Blue Star Line, is set to sail on its maiden voyage in 2022. To pay tribute to the original ship, Titanic II will be sailing on the same route as the liner, which famously sank back in 1912 after crashing into an iceberg during its maiden voyage between Southampton and New York City. The project has been a few years in the making with the company first announcing plans to build the ship in 2013, and while there were several models and tests already taking place, the venture was stalled during some financial disputes.
https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/titanic-ii-sailing-2022-follow-16331485?_ga=2.198099751.920686984.1559527284-1850300768.1559527284

Catching up on Titanic news

Time to catch up on some Titanic news! Here are some news articles you might be in interested. If you see a news article you think should be noticed here, drop us a line at editor@titanicnewschannel.com

Former Harland & Wolff building in Bootle, Dock Road (18 Feb 2007)
Image: Nigel Cox / Bootle: Harland & Wolff Works building, Dock Road / CC BY-SA 2.0The Little-Known Titanic Secrets About This Hidden Merseyside Building (Echo, 29 Dec 2018)

The Little-Known Titanic Secrets About This Hidden Merseyside Building (Echo, 29 Dec 2018)

The only sign of its illustrious past is the giant Harland & Wolff sign on the outside of the building. But unknown to many, this Bootle site – passed by hundreds of HGV drivers a week on their way to the Port of Liverpool complex – could have links to the ill-fated luxury ocean liner, RMS Titanic. The White Star Line-owned ship, built at Harland & Wolff’s main Belfast production yard and registered in Liverpool, tragically sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean after striking an iceberg on April 15, 1912. Although there is little detailed information about Harland & Wolff’s Liverpool site, it is hought by some that engine parts for the Titanic could have been made there when it was used as a foundry at the turn of the last century.
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/little-known-titanic-secrets-hidden-15542852

The Titanic: 13 Things The Movie Got Wrong (12 They Got Right)(The Travel, 25 Dec 2018)
Fortunately for Cameron and his team, the movie went on to be the highest grossing film of all time at the time of its release, breaking just about every single box office record in existence up until that point. It connected with audiences on a scale that few films do, becoming a cinematic sensation through its action-packed ship journey and an epic love story between the two main characters, Jack and Rose, played by a young Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Here are thirteen things the movie Titanic got wrong and twelve it actually got right.
https://www.thetravel.com/things-the-titanic-movie-got-right-wrong-right/

Harland & Wolff: Shipbuilder An Enduring Chapter Of Belfast Story For More Than 150 Years (Belfast Telegraph, 21 Dec 2018)
The Harland & Wolff shipyard was founded in Belfast in 1862 by Edward James Harland and Gustav Wilhelm Wolff. At its peak in the early 20th century – its workforce hit around 35,000 in the 1930s Harland & Wolff and its Belfast yard was one of the biggest shipbuilders in the world and a beacon of manufacturing prowess. Now the famous Drawing Offices where the plans for the liner were refined is the home of the Titanic Hotel within the Titanic Quarter.
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/northern-ireland/harland-wolff-shipbuilder-an-enduring-chapter-of-belfast-story-for-more-than-150-years-37646075.html

My Titanic job…ship with 40,000 Lego bricks (Daily Express, 21 Dec 2018)
Master builder Keith Morton is feeling shipshape after spending almost two years constructing a replica of the Titanic using 40,000 Lego bricks. The 65-year-old has painstakingly placed every brick into the 10ft model of the passenger liner.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1062392/titanic-lego-model-Keith-Morton

The Discovery Of The Titanic Wreck Was a Front For a Secret U.S. Military Mission (Govexe.com, 18 Dec 2018)
While it is true that a team from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution found the Titanic, what was not reported at the time were the conditions put in place by the U.S. Navy—or their involvement with the mission at all. Ballard was not exclusively a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientist, but also a U.S. Navy Commander. The navy would fund the mission, CNN reported, but only if Ballard first explored the USS Thresher and the USS Scorpion, two American nuclear subs that had sunk about 20 years prior.
https://www.govexec.com/management/2018/12/discovery-titanic-wreck-was-front-secret-us-military-mission/153629/

You Can Visit The Wreck Of Titanic At The Bottom Of The Atlantic Ocean In 2019 (Lonely Planet, 18 Dec 2018)
Plans are in motion to bring people to visit the wreck of RMS Titanic at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in 2019 as part of six 11-day missions to explore the wreck. Taking part in the Titanic Survey Expedition, which is open to scientists and ‘citizen explorers,’ will cost US$105,129 (£83,537), which is the equivalent of what a first class ticket on Titanic’s maiden voyage would cost now.
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/news/2018/12/18/visit-wreck-titanic/

The Replica Ship Titanic II Will Now Set Sail In 2022 (Business Insider, 12 Dec 18) There are many stories out there about the upcoming Titanic II (dubbed by me as Palmer 2.0). We went down this road before. We had lots of press releases, gala events, stories of various suppliers etc. And then it hit the wall. Palmer could not get funding, the shipyard was quiet. Once again they are cranking up the press releases and the media are eating it up. Remember when suddenly out of the blue news articles were pushing Titanic II a couple of years ago by simply regurgitating old news? Well it has that feel again. Any way, here is the article about what Palmer 2.0 will look like etc.
https://www.businessinsider.com/titanic-ll-compare-to-the-original-2018-11

To close out this Saturday, here are two Christmas comedy music for your enjoyment. Happy Saturday.

Rare poster surfaces;Titanic II back from the Grave?

March 6, 1912: Titanic (right) had to be moved out of the drydock so her sister Olympic (left), which had lost a propeller, could have it replaced.
Robert John Welch (1859-1936), official photographer for Harland & Wolff
Public domain

1. Rare Titanic Poster Surfaces
The Irish Mirror reports that a rare Titanic poster has been found and soon will be up for auction. Red,white and blue posters were put up around lower Manhattan in New York during the spring of 1912. After the sinking,the posters were taken down by White Star. The posters advertised Titanic as “Queen of the Ocean.” They included two black and white photos of the interior with Olympic as the stand in. And they were for the return journey set for Saturday, April 20, 1912. The Mirror reports only a handful survived and the one up from auction cam from a private source. Henry Aldridge & Son is handling the auction. The presale estimate is £60,000-£100,000 ($78,580-$130,968).
Source: Rare poster on return voyage of the Titanic surfaces over 100 years after sinking (Irish Mirror,17 Oct 2018, )
(Due to policy of Irish newspapers to impose fee on links to news articles, we are not providing one here.)

2. Titanic II in 2022?
Well say this about Clive Palmer, he is not given up on the idea of creating a seaworthy replica of the famous ship. It was a total bust last time since he could not get Chinese investors aboard. Now he is claiming it will launch in 2022 after being built in China, sail to Dubai following a shakedown cruise from China to Signapore, and then to Southampton. The project is expected to cost $500 million. Whether this is just a publicity stunt remains to be seen.
Source: New Titanic to set sail from Dubai in 2022, says Clive Palmer (arabianbusiness.com,16 Oct 2018)
https://www.arabianbusiness.com/travel/406296-new-titanic-to-set-sail-from-dubai-in-2022-says-clive-palmer


Titanic Tidbits and Musings

Summer is drawing to a close and schools are opening up. Sleepy eyed kids are getting on the local buses again to make the journey to school. It has been a quiet summer Titanic wise. Not a whole lot of news though some important news did occur.

United_States_Bankruptcy_Court_SealPremier Exhibitions Declares Bankruptcy To Reorganize
The big news before the summer began was Premier declaring bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and seeking to reorganize. Typically this means the company has enough resources to stay afloat and needs the courts to reduce its liabilities. For creditors it means they usually get something but not everything. It means the court has to take a hard look at how the company operates which means an intensive look at the financial records and other aspects of the company.

While things have not gone well for a while with Premier, it was thought the Dinoking merger and bringing aboard its ceo to manage would bring things in line. What apparently occurred is that the debts owed by Premier were far greater than the cash infusion the merger could solve. So to stave off likely lawsuits from creditors, they headed to bankruptcy court. Now one of the big arguments is over the French Collection. These artifacts were brought up with a joint expedition with IFREMER and are separate from the other artifacts covered under the U.S. Federal Court salvage award. That salvage award limits how the artifacts can be sold, specifically as one collection making it very difficult to find buyers due to the high cost. However Premier believed it had clear title to the French artifacts and wanted to sell some of them to pay off debts. And sought permission from the court to do this. It was denied, in part, because bankruptcy law requires an adversary action to remove any possible claims to items that will be sold or auctioned off to pay debts.

So Premier is suing the French government in federal court. Premier has submitted documents that appear to support their position. Meanwhile we wait on France to decide whether it will contest a possible sale or file a brief saying they will not fight it.

So Much For Palmer’s Titanic II
Well it appears to be over. After all the fanfare and some preliminary work, the Clive Palmer’s dream to recreate Titanic has come to an end. No one can blame him for wanting to bring it about. It is a great dream. Despite all the positive news spun out by his public relations team, financing the construction proved harder than realized. It was to be constructed in China but the date for the work start came and went, new dates were set, but the shipyard remained quiet. Then came news that once it was launched it would stop in Dubai. That raised speculation that investors from that area were keen on tying in their own Titanic themed areas with this new ship. And I speculated that perhaps money to build could come from there (or even be built there). But Palmer’s relations with the Chinese took a real nosedive with his criticisms of a Chinese company and the lack of Chinese investors in the project meant it would go nowhere. So without much fanfare and no publicity, construction of Clive Palmer’s Titanic II has ended.

Chinese Titanic II
Palmer’s version fizzled but China is building their Titanic II that will docked at a theme park. It will be full size and look exactly like the original. It will also be a hotel and tourist attraction. Visitors will be able to stay aboard, sample high-end late Edwardian age cuisine, and even visit the Titanic Sinking Simulator. That has caused a lot of controversy. Perhaps what will stun visitors from the West is that likely the message about Titanic will be strongly anti-capitalist and demonstrate why the Chinese way is more superior. Just do not mention their awful human rights record or persecution of those who practice religion of any kind.

Masterchef
The current season is interesting but has its usual combination of the excellent, the not-so-good, and those just filling a slot until they are dropped. Poor Nathan is the butt of so many jokes. The bow tied tuxedo salesman (and he always wears a suit even when outside at the farm) may be good at cooking dishes alone but has severe problems working in a team. Some of the good have made their mistakes and departed but perhaps none worse than Andrea. She showed really excellent skills but when she failed to bring her sausage dish down to the front table at the right time, it was bad. Worse was how Gordon and company handled it. At this point they knew she was out of the contest. Instead they go through the mockery of tasting the dishes of which the two useful facts were announced: that she (Andrea) had the best dish while Diamond served up raw sausage. In a normal competition, Diamond would go home. But that is reality and not the often strange world of Masterchef that live in an alternate universe.

They knew Andrea was out the moment she put her plate down three seconds too late. Gordon seemed to argue with Christina and Chef Lee about her having the best dish but Christina reminded rules are rules. Do not be fooled, that was all for show as none of it was for real. It was to make it look like there was some dispute when none existed. Diamond, a weak contender, went into the next round and would be sent home in the next episode. In a real contest, Andrea would have been sent home immediately for missing the time requirement. No need to bother with tasting the dishes and move on to the next round. It just shows the strange world that Masterchef inhabits.