Sinking of the Titanic (2012): Centenary and heritage law

Watertight bulkheads rose only as high as E Deck. Naval architect Edward Wilding later told the British inquiry that a long side-grazing tear along plate seams could flood several compartments. The design assumed a head-on or limited-compartment breach, not a running wound along the starboard side.

Ice, speed and a single wireless watch On 14 April the ship received multiple ice warnings, including from SS Californian and SS Mesaba. Captain Edward J. Smith kept a near-full speed of about 21–22 knots on a clear, moonless night. Lookouts in the crow’s nest had no binoculars. The iceberg was seen at about 23:40; the helm order came too late to clear it.

Californian, stopped in ice a few miles away, had shut down its wireless for the night after a single operator’s watch. Rockets from Titanic were seen and misread. Carpathia, under Captain Arthur Rostron, turned at full speed and took about 710 survivors from the boats after dawn on 15 April.