BRISBANE, Australia - Australian mining magnate Clive Palmer has announced plans to enter the cruise ship business by building a modern version of Titanic, local media reported on Monday.

Palmer said in Brisbane that he had signed a memorandum of understanding with state-owned Chinese company CSC Jinling Shipyard to build Titanic II, the Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported.

Titanic II's maiden voyage from England to North America will take place in late 2016, according to Palmer.

Palmer's new shipping company Blue Star Line Pty Ltd has commissioned CSC Jinling Shipyard to build and co-ordinate the construction of Titanic II in China.

Asked if the ship could sink, Palmer told reporters: "Of course it will sink if you put a hole in it, but it's not going to be designed with a hole."

"It will be designed as a modern ship with all the technology to ensure that doesn't happen," he said.

"But of course if you are superstitious like you are, you never know what could happen."

The original Titanic sank in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg on April 15, 1912.