On 10 April 1912, when the largest ocean liner in service at that time, RMS Titanic, started its maiden voyage from Southampton, it was a new beginning in the history. With at least 2,224 people on board, including a number of prominent personalities, the luxury ship that nicknamed as ‘Millionaire’s Special’ was en route to New York City on that day.
Designed to be the epitome of style and safety, the vessel featured many advanced luxury and safety features. Moreover, the ‘unsinkable’ RMS Titanic was commanded by a senior captain, 62-year-old Captain Edward Smith, again ensuring the safety of the vessel and its passengers.
However, the destiny of this spectacular ship was already made. On the 14th of April, the world witnessed what could easily be considered as its most deadly civilian maritime disaster – the sinking of the great Ship Titanic. On that fateful night, at around 11.40 PM Titanic struck an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland and began to sink.
Over the course of the next few hours, people witnessed the biggest catastrophe to hit the world, and at 2.20 AM on the morning of the 15th, the biggest ship that the world had seen settled to the bottom of the North Atlantic.
The sea, the sinking of the ship and the cold weather were enough to take the lives of 1517 passengers and crew on board. Just 706 of them survived the ordeal to tell the horrific and sad tale to the world.
Why the ‘unsinkable’ Titanic sunk?
As the news of the Titanic disaster reached land, there was shock and outrage directed against several issues that possibly led to the accident. Many legends and conspiracy theories arose almost immediately after the accident on those who died and survived, and also on the reasons behind the sinking of the vessel.
How did the Titanic sink in spite of having the best technical design available at the time seemed a mystery for a long time? This was the question that baffled many scientists and engineers for days after the disaster.
Immediately after the sinking, the investigations into the matter began and in fact, two separate inquiries had been set up – one by the United States Senate and the other by the British Board of Trade.
The U.S inquiry was headed by Senator William Alden Smith and the British one by Lord Mersey. The surviving passengers and the very crew who managed to escape from the clutches of death gave their versions of the tragedy and the investigations were concluded quickly, though the initial questioning and detail gathering took more than a few months.
The results of the investigations revealed that many of the safety measures and regulations of the international maritime were outdated and required a second look. The ship itself was found short on a few of the standards
reference-https://www.insider.com/titanic-secrets-facts-2018-4
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