Titanic 2 of the Day

Because the maiden voyage of the R.M.S. Titanic didn't exactly go as planned, an Australian billionaire has commissioned a replica of the ship for a series of journeys that will hopefully have a happier ending.

Clive Palmer, a Queensland-based mining billionaire, is partnering with China's CSC Jinling Shipyard to build the ship, which will be ready for passengers by 2016.

"It will be every bit as luxurious as the original Titanic but of course it will have state-of-the-art 21st century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems," he said in a statement.

The ship's first trip will be from London to New York -- rather than from Southampton to New York like the "unsinkable" original -- and Palmer admits that some potential passengers will stay away because of superstitions.

"It is going to be designed so it won't sink. But, of course, if you are superstitious like you are, you never know what could happen," he said, encouragingly.

No word on what kind of deck chairs the new ship will have, or how they'll be arranged.

[cnn.]