Posted on 04/14/2016 10:15:40 AM PDT by NRx
In the 1958 Titanic film "A Night to Remember," Captain Smith is consulting with the shipbuilder Thomas Andrews. After the two realize that the Titanic will sink and that there are not enough lifeboats for even half those aboard, Smith quietly says "I don't think the Board of Trade regulations visualized this situation, do you?"
In the run-up to the 100th anniversary of this tragedy this weekend, there's been a lot of commentary about who and what were to blame. Left unsaid is that the Titanic's lifeboat capacity is probably the most iconic regulatory failure of the 20th century.
The ship had carried 2,224 people on its maiden voyage but could only squeeze 1,178 people into its lifeboats. There were a host of other failures, accidents, and mishaps which led to the enormous loss of life, but this was the most crucial one: From the moment the Titanic scraped the iceberg, the casualties were going to be unprecedented.
Yet the Titanic was fully compliant with all marine laws. The British Board of Trade required all vessels above 10,000 metric tonnes (11,023 U.S. tons) to carry 16 lifeboats. The White Star Line ensured that the Titanic exceeded the requirements by four boats. But the ship was 46,328 tonnes. The Board of Trade hadn't updated its regulations for nearly 20 years.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Ref” Post 1...a picture of the USA just before Obama’s inauguration.
Then, as now, no regulator lost their job. The responsible government bodies updated their procedures and blamed the operator.
http://strangeandcreepy.com/alternative-theories-sinking-titanic/ Real reason is it wasn’t the Titanic.
The real reason for the Titanic tragedy was not enough rudder for that size ship. I don’t believe any regulations addressed that issue.
What a BS article. Ismay and White Star could of on their volition added the lifeboats beyond the obsolete regulations. They did not want the lifeboats for aesthetic reasons and used the excuse that regulations at that time did not require them. I thought according to the WSJ the market could take care of safety but in this case White Star was so safe with its water tight compartments they would not the lifeboats to take everyone off at the same time.
The reason for the lack of lifeboats has been known for decades.
The sad part was that there were empty seats that went unused in the lifeboats.
That is one of the most risible and thoroughly debunked conspiracy theories I have come across.
One of the key witnesses who worked for the White Star Line tried to get off the rescue vessel dressed as a woman when it entered New York harbor. The caught him anyway and hauled him before the hearings as they did with several others who didn't try to evade congress.
It was a joint committee, hearings begin within a month of the sinking while witness accounts were still fresh. Excellent, probing, fact finding questions and little political grandstanding. It will put our later versions of congress to shame.
Anyone reading those accounts will come out knowing just about all the facts related to the sinking, but an appreciation with the high standards we used to have for people elected to congress.
I always thought running in to the iceberg played a big part in the sinking.
Seriously, wasn’t the steel very poor quality as well? Very low carbon IIRC..??..
Thank God it was unsinkable.
You seem to get history written and rewritten concerning this event (more theories than you can shake a stick at). The bizarre one I know of is that the boat that sank really was not the “Titanic”, but the “Olympic” that was damaged in the maiden voyage and sunk to claim the insurance.
Poor rivets also IIRC?
I believe that’s what the link at post #4 is suggesting.
For later
I once heard that if they hadn’t thrown it into reverse, but merely slowed down and turned, that they may have done a better job at avoiding the iceberg. The throwing it in reverse made it jam for a few precious minutes instead of just slowing down first and then going in reverse. I have no idea of that’s true or not.
Can’t blame it on the government. They did not need to be told that there should be enough lifeboats for everyone on board.
no bow thrusters, 360 degree stern propulsor pods, roll-stabilizers, radar, sat internet and television, glass wipers on bridge windows, etc.
these were contributory factors also.
The lookouts in the crows’ nest had no binoculars even though there were binoculars on board which no one could locate. When they spotted the iceberg it was already too late to avoid.
What if Titanic had held steady and smashed into the iceberg head on?
Was the rudder problem later addressed on Olympic and Britannic, Titanic’s sister ships?
Regulations and codes tend to be minimum standards (or, in some cases, nothing more than make-work for unions). What prevented the White Star Line from making a few calculations of their own, and adding more lifeboats above and beyond what was regulated?
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