We have all heard of the infamous sinking of the RMS Titanic that happened on the 14th of April 1912 whilst on her first, maiden voyage. The Titanic was an passenger liner in the Olympic Class that was owned by White Star Line. It was built at a shipyard in Belfast, Ireland by Harland and Wolff.
As shown in the famous film of the incident, the Titanic struck an iceberg which meant that a short time of 2 hours and forty minutes later, it sank.
When she was launched from the port in 1912 she ranked first in the largest passenger steamship ever, this meant that at least 1,517 people were killed, ranking it as the fifth worst maritime disaster, being behind theSultana, MV Joola, the Halifax Explosion and MV Dona Paz.
Now, let us not forget that the Captain, Edward John Smith, was challenged to cross the North Atlantic in the quickest time possible. R.M.S. Titanic was the pride of the White Star Line, and it is widely believed that the Captain was trying to set a record time for crossing the North Atlantic.
Despite three warnings of icebergs in the area that night, all failed to reach the bridge. This was due to the fact that the radio operators were paid by Marconi and their main function was to relay messages to the PASSENGERS, not the Captain on the bridge. Such failures of communication do not happen in the modern world.
Approximately 30 seconds after three bells were sounded, the Titanic collided with the iceberg. This resulted in a three hundred foot gash being inflicted on the right hand side of the vessel, opening up six compartments, below the waterline. The Titanic was designed to stay afloat with a maximum of four compartments flooded. It was to take a further two and a half hours to sink, and now lays 2.5 miles below the North Atlantic
At the time it was made, it used the most up to date technology to ensure that it was as safe as could be, and was popularly accepted that it was ‘unsinkable’. However, despite the advanced crew and the technology, we all know that was not the case.
The wreck was discovered in 1985, by a team that was led by Robert Ballard have ensured that the Titanic persistently famous.
Such is the curiosity of the disaster that the cruise liner Balmoral will follow the original route taken by Titanic, and intends to stop over the point at which the Titanic rests on April 15th 2012. This cruise is operated by Fred Olson Cruise Lines.