At selected Boulogne restaurants, Hoverspeed passengers can even enjoy a complimentary drink, whilst in the Hoverstore, there's a selection of over 400 of the finest wines, with free tasting available. If you purchase 7 cases of wine or more, you can claim a free case of sparkling Chardonnay. With Christmas and the Millennium celebrations too close for comfort the trips are an ideal way to stock up on festive drinks and gifts. Hoverspeed's 'select and collect' service even provides free delivery back to Folkestone port. For more information, and to book, contact Hoverspeed on 08705 240241.

ATLANTIC II It would appear that the vessel will now not be operating an additional daily roundtrip on the Dover - Ostend route on the weekends of 5 - 7 November and 12 - 14 November. It is understood that a number of difficulties arose in connection with the planned sailings. It is possible that RAPIDE could be used instead, her place on the Dover - Calais route being taken by the ATLANTIC II.

IRISH FERRIES

On Sunday 31^st October all sailings by JONATHAN SWIFT were cancelled on the Dublin to Holyhead route.

STENA LINE

STENA INVICTA, currently owned by P&O Stena Line, which is due to operate on the Holyhead to Dublin route from 12 December for three months providing additional capacity over the Christmas, Millennium and following refit periods has been sold.

WEATHER DISRUPTION

Poor weather over the weekend of 30^th/31^st October saw widespread disruption on the Irish Sea. All HSS sailings between Holyhead and Dun Laoghaire were cancelled on 31^st October, and are advertised as being liable to disruption until Tuesday November 2nd.

PENINSULAR & ORIENTAL by Gary Andrews

Several hundred passengers refused to leave the PRIDE OF RATHLIN on the afternoon of 30 October. The P&O European Ferries' vessel had returned to Larne after being unable to berth at Cairnryan in very severe conditions, presumably at the conclusion of her 08.00 sailing ex Larne. The passengers (understood to be Celtic Football supporters en route to a match) remained on board for up to two hours in Larne and left only after a P&O manager spoke with them. The company said that the matter has now been resolved to everyone's satisfaction. Following the berthing difficulties at Cairnryan all Larne - Cairnryan sailings were cancelled until weather conditions abated.

MERCHANT FERRIES / NORSE IRISH FERRIES by Gary Andrews

The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal. The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal.  and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built her that she sank. It is a pity that it has taken someone thousands of miles away to come up with a project like this."

Mivan Marine, the Antrim-based ship outfitters, will tender for part of the project when it secures final approval. The company was paid £500,000 to carry out a feasibility study for the abandoned Hokkaido proposal.  The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its The full-scale replica of the 882ft-long vessel is to be berthed in Tokyo Bay and used as an 800-room hotel and conference centre. A subsidiary of the Hitachi Corporation, which has been working on the project for two years, is finalising the funding of $160m and plans to begin construction next year.

The replica will be built on a concrete base already constructed below the water line in the bay. The design will closely follow that of the Belfast shipbuilder who constructed the original. The four funnels, the grand staircase with its atrium and the luxurious dining room with hand-carved woodwork and stained glass will all be reproduced. Staff will wear period costumes.

The hotel's bedrooms will be based on first-class cabin accommodation and there will be no third class or crew quarters. The three huge engines will be copied in plastic, and two large gates on the seaward side will allow small boats to enter a marina in the hull.

Yamauchi, a company that specialises in marine developments, after James Cameron's epic film Titanic broke box office records in Japan, proposed the project. The company had considered  buying the Queen Mary and transporting it to Japan, but the ship, was not seaworthy.

Five years ago another Japanese consortium proposed building a floating replica of the ship on the island of Hokkaido, but the plan was abandoned after an earthquake destroyed a large section of the harbour.

John Martin, a shipbuilding consultant from Co Armagh who has been involved in the project, said: "It is my understanding that the necessary funding has been secured and the project could receive approval within a matter of weeks." Fujita Hideaka, a director with the company, confirmed that the project was at "an advanced stage".

News of the plan was greeted with despair in Belfast, where Titanic buffs have been campaigning for the city to capitalise on its involvement with the vessel. Apart from a monument in the grounds of the City Hall, Belfast has no memorial to the 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.

A seminar will be held at the City Hall on Friday to discuss ideas for exploiting the tourism potential of Belfast as the birthplace of the ship. Among the proposals is a plan by Harland and Wolff to build a replica of the ship as part of a £400m development called Titanic Quarter.

Dr Ian Adamson, a former lord mayor who has been campaigning for an annual Titanic Day, regretted that Belfast had not done more to commemorate those who died, and to honour those who built it. "It is a shame that we did not set the example. Belfast is the home of the Titanic and we should have done something before now to celebrate what was the greatest engineering feat of its day,'' Adamson said.

John Parkinson, 92, watched with his father, a carpenter who worked on the ship, as tugs pulled the Titanic out of Belfast Lough in 1912. Now president of the Ulster Titanic Society, he has spent most of his life campaigning to have a memorial built.

He said: "It would be very exciting to have a full-scale replica of the Titanic as it would help show people just what Belfast achieved more than 80 years ago. People tend to forget that it was not the fault of those who built h