Harland & Wolff is in serious trouble as previously noted here on this blog. They cannot get a government backed security for a loan, lost the Port Stanley harbor bid, had to drop a ferry service they were running, and possibly could lose a UK Royal Navy contract. Now comes an interesting twist to this tale: Clive Palmer. The tycoon offered up a substantial sum of money ($200 million Australian) to the company though it is unclear whether it was a loan or something else. And he also wants them to build Titanic II.

Clive Palmer has been trying to build an updated version of the classic ship since that famous movie came out. He hosted some major media events, contracted with various firms to the basic groundwork and planning, and set up a company to oversee it (Blue Star Line). Prior to the Pandemic, he hoped to build it in China. But he got into a spat with the Chinese government, and nothing got done. And with everything shut down for a while, nothing was being built anywhere. Clive Palmer though has never given up the dream and sees an opportunity with Harland & Wolff. Alas Harland & Wolff does not seem that interested, at least for now. He tried meeting with the new president, Russell Downs, but it never materialized. Although he owns some stock in the company (and has amassed a great fortune), the company appears uninterested.

Now I have been very critical of Clive Palmer in the past. He has made many audacious claims about his Titanic II and to date it has not materialized. He did hire marine consultants to draft actual plans and consulted other experts as well, so in that part he is certainly genuine. Building the actual ship though has proven a Herculean challenge. Hercules had to clean out the Augean stables by diverting a river. Palmer has loads of money but so far no one is building his dream. That is until something unexpected happened with Harland & Wolff experiencing serious financial problems, so he offered serious cash and wanting them to build his Titanic II.  Now I am not a shareholder in Harland & Wolff, but one has to wonder why they would not want to meet to at least discuss terms of him assisting the beleaguered shipbuilder. And I have to think others might be of the same mind as well.

After all, this is a tycoon with lots of money to spend. And consider all the great publicity it would be if-just saying if-a Titanic II is built there in Belfast. The city, already embracing the original Titanic, would now be seeing a modern-day replica being built right there. Now I have no idea if that would happen, but it is certain to get a lot of people thinking about it. Then again Palmer does have a reputation and perhaps that scares of people like Downs. Yet, considering the financial peril they are in, the old saying “Beggars cannot be choosers” comes to mind. The company needs serious money to keep going and Palmer is offering them a lifeline. They might want to reconsider since Palmer is serious about his offer. And they simply do not have many options left. Otherwise, a once venerated shipbuilder will likely fold, go under the hammer for asset sale, be bought out by a foreign company, or its property sold for development (think hotel and commercial building going up). I suspect others may put pressure on the company and Clive Palmer may very well get his ship built in the very place where the first one was built.

Source

Knight, E. (2024, August 7). Clive Palmer’s plan to build Titanic II runs into another iceberg. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/clive-palmer-s-plan-to-build-titanic-ii-runs-into-another-iceberg-20240807-p5k0e8.html