Cruise Ship News is reporting that while Palmer has gotten a lot of preliminary things done, progress on ship construction has been stalled. The keel was supposed to be laid in March 2014 but now has been pushed to September. The ship is still planned to be completed in 2016, but another problem has emerged namely that Palmer is not in good standing with the leaders in Beijing. According to the Courier Mail,Palmer’s search for Chinese sponsors is now nearly impossible. The Chinese owned company CITIC Pacific has accused Palmer’s company Mineralogy “of siphoning $12m from it to help fund the 2013 Palmer United Party election campaign.” In short, Palmer took money from the Chinese government. The Chinese government has not filed a formal complaint but Palmer, through his spokesman, denies the allegations.

However it means should he land on Chinese soil, they might detain him. Which means making it very problematic to build Titanic II in China if the government believes you stole money from them. Palmer is also involved in litigation against CITIC over royalties he claims owed to him. Add it up and one can not see a favorable climate in China for this ship being built there at this time. If he wants their money to invest in energy projects and Titanic II, he will have to practice the kowtow before that will occur.

Sources:
1. Progress Of Titanic 2 Ship Two Years On(27 June 2014,Cruise Ship News)
2. Clive Palmer’s Blunt Manner Of Saying What He Thinks Does Not Translate Well From Australia To China. Is The Politician Billionaire’s Mouth Getting Him In Trouble?(31 May 2014, Courier Mail)