This morning on opening our Press Folder NAUTICAL LOG was horrified to read in the BBC NEWS Asia that a replica of the RMS Titanic is going to be built.
It used to be that "The Americans" were accused of misuse of their wealth now it seems this has shifted to "The Australians" for the replica of this tragic vessel has been contracted by Australian billionaire Clive Palmer. Apparently he is a mining billionaire and construction of the replica will begin in a Chinese shipyard at the end of next year.
NAUTICAL LOG is certainly not going to go into the details of the projected vessel - research that for yourselves - however we do hope that there will be sufficient disgust at the insensitivity of Palmer to have the project scuppered before the keel is laid.
This vessel will be built in a yard, CSC Jining Shipyard, of a country with chronic Human Rights issues just as the original vessel was. Harland and Wolff of Belfast hired its workers based on religious preference and this resulted in members of only one christian sect being employed there. Those divisions still exist today in Northern Ireland though the employment issue is monitored by Human Rights groups both at the government level and by private organisations.
One might add that the reported comments by BBC NEWS Asia to this insensitive announcement were largely positive, my generation from another era entirely now being retired. Palmer who is now into tourism and resorts with large holdings in China will no doubt have a full vessel every voyage. One hopes that the project falls apart but if it is successful one hopes the vessel has safe voyages for the sake of all on board.
Good Watch.
There still remain off the coast of Puntland, Somalia some 300 of our fellow seafarers held hostage by pirates. They face mutilation and death every day some now in their third year of captivity.
4 comments:
Captain, I can't help but think that this might be some BS by way of free publicity- I believe that simple economics will make this untenable. Looking at the hull form, there's no way this will work, as anything but a loss leader, even as a novelty piece. Add to that, this is a proposal to justify the creation of a new shipyard in China, owned by the same person, at a time and in a place where yard consolidation is the only means of survival for those who don't have a 2+ year backlog on their build books.
Palmer also announced he was going to run for parliament in the same week and got laughed at because he's being trying to run the place with his cash clout for a while now.
I wouldn't fuss too much.
Truly insensitive and disgusting as you said.
I'm starting to think humanity is a lost cause though.
Between the jokes being made at the expense of those who perished on the Concordia, at least in the social media sphere. And those who just want to exploit said tragedy for their gain. (IE If incident X happens we must certainly rush and pass resolution Y). There is no safety crisis. But we do have a humanitarian one involving the situation off Somalia. I guess the only way people will care about that is when they're not able to buy their favorite iThingy from China.
TIMMAY: You may well be right. If one is to judge from the elections in France and Greece people are only interested in themselves and "entitlements". As to the "social media" which NAUTICAL LOG does not follow but sees comments to Media articles many of the commenters are socially sick. In the 1920's national socialism arose in Europe, lets us hope the backlash does not occur once again in the 2020's.
Good Watch
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