TITANIIC
The main goal of a TITANIIC project is to build the whole new ship Titanic while using a modern technology. The project is being led by Ondřej Vrkoč since he was 17 years old. Communication, propulsion, navigation and safety systems are supposed to use modern technologies. The interior will be created according to the original ship and there should even be formed a fake boiler room as a resemblance of the real one that was on Titanic. A lifetime of this new ship should be at least 40 years. Because of the lifetime of the ship, the interior will also be adjusted. There will be new facilities such are casinos, relaxing areas, etc.
Ondřej Vrkoč
Ondřej Vrkoč (born June 24, 1993, in Prague) is a Czech entrepreneur and a "titanicologist“. He was amazed by Titanic since he was 3 years old and shortly after watching James Cameron's Titanic movie he decided not only to study Titanic but also make it his own hobby. When he was 15 years old, he started to give lectures at schools for students and teachers, interviews for TV, newspapers and also on a radio. Two years later he came up with a financial plan for the project and addressed the Czech shipyard.
In 2011 a company called REVIVAL of the TITANIC was registered in the business register as a limited liability company (with a capital of 200 000 CZK). Ondřej Vrkoč ended his college studies because of lack of time due to a workload of the TITANIIC project. During the years 2015 and 2016 he participated in the international exhibition of artefacts from the wreck of the Titanic which was held in Bratislava and Prague.
About the project
One of the biggest Vrkoč‘s success is dragging the general manager of a competitive project to his own project. Other collaborators include the project’s main engineer and designer who worked on Cunard's Queen Mary II, Stephen Payne and Ivan Samák, a former director of Czech shipyard in Chvaletice. Samák figures in the project as a natural person only.
Because of the safety reasons, the ship reduction in size and also the fuel consumption, the original coal boilers will be exchanged for modern diesel engines. The exterior was designed the same as the original appearance of Titanic with regard to the safety reasons and the use of modern technologies. The actual construction of the ship will be made using modern materials, which will be hidden and as a result, some elements will only have the esthetic meaning. The interior was designed based on the original ship as well, and because of safety reasons, the second and third class cabins would be partially removed. The first class cabins, dining room, stairs etc., would maintain the same. The project is open to compromise, as mentioned above, in sense of fake rooms which would work as small museums. There are newly designed two classes: first class remains the same and carries the name Titanic class, the second class will be named FUN TANIC class, replacing the original second and third class.
The original plan for investors was to address wide public, but that was evaluated as unrealistic. Among the investors, we include steel magnate who would give us the steel, followed by some major operators of ships. The price of a standard ticket for the weekly cruise is currently estimated at 20 000 CZK. Routes should be placed mainly in the Caribbean, but the ship would sail during the annual anniversary along the original route of the Titanic from Southampton to New York. During the anchoring in ports, the ship should be accessible to the public and also to act as a museum. The project manager negotiates with owners about getting the original parts of the Titanic and about the placement these parts to a new Titanic as a symbol of honour to the victims of the tragedy. This could be for instance the angel on the original stairs.
Year 2010
The project cost estimation was originally between 10.5 to 11 billion CZK. For comparison, the Queen Mary II cost 13 billion.
The first consultation was with the shipyard in Chvaletice with Ivan Samák in 2010.
In 2012 the French Saint-Nazaire STX France which belongs to the STX Europe became a general partner of the project. Alain Buck welcomed them in the shipyard itself. The shipyard made a concession to the advance which amounted to tens of thousands of euros instead of the usual 2,5 billion crowns.
In the same year, the project was suspended due to an announcement of similar interest of billionaire Clive Palmer. Because of this, the project which was headed by Mr. Ondřej Vrkoč was postponed for two years and it was waiting for the outcome of a competitive project. Since the apparent halt of Palmer's project, Vrkoč's project has since resumed.
Year 2015
The work on the project was renewed in 2015 and it was announced on 10 February 2016 at the world Titanic exhibition held in Prague Letňany where Mr. Vrkoč worked and also taught.
The cost estimation of the new project was reduced by 3 billion crowns to 8 billion crowns without reducing the quality of luxuries. The contract for the construction of Titanic is still due to be signed in middle to late 2017. If signed, the project is expected to be complete in three years. The construction of the ship itself is estimated to take two years.
Competitive project Titanic II
With the 100th anniversary of sinking of the Titanic in 2012, the Australian entrepreneur and billionaire Clive Palmer announced the same intention. Palmer announced the completion of construction of the ship Titanic II in two years. The ship was supposed to be bulit by a British company Blue Star Line in China for 4 billions crowns. Mr. Palmer wants the identical copy of the original part of the ship that’s supposed to serve its guests (including common toilet in the corridor, the third class with a bunk above etc.) which is the opposite of Mr. Vrkoč’s project.
On February 26 of the 2013, american newspaper USA Today published an article where Palmer mentions that he doesn’t want to use modern technologies in his ship. For instance, his passengers would have to be without TV signal or internet connection. The first trip should be from Chinese province Jiangsu to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
In 2016, Clive Palmer released new information, the ship will be built in 2018. The construction will cost 9 to 13 billion crowns. The ship will be 53 meters high and 269 meters long. It will have 840 cabins for 2 435 passengers and 900 for members crew. Palmer wants to have some elements on the ship just for historical reasons even though they won’t be functional. But there is no information about the construction of the ship or about the project.
Odkazy
References
Externí odkazy
- Official site project
- Official website of the shipyard in Saint-Nazaire STX France - performs ship construction
- Titanic: Honor and Glory - partner
- TNNOVINY.SK - exhibition in Bratislava tells the story of the most famous liner of all time
Video rozhovory
- Interview CT1 - 30 years since the discovery of the wreck of the Titanic
- Interview ČT24 - Titanic II
- Interview ČT24 - Czech man build Titanic II?
- RTVS management - The legendary Titanic is in Bratislava
- TABLET.TV- In Bratislava docked legendary Titanic