Titanic on Trial

by Nic Compton

  The British Inquiry

  The real difficulty in dealing with the question of the boats is to find the explanation of so many of them leaving the ship with comparatively few persons in them. No 1 certainly left with only 12; this was an emergency boat with a carrying capacity of 40. No 7 left with only 27, and No 6 with only 28; these were lifeboats with a carrying capacity of 65 each; and several of the others, according to the evidence and certainly according to the truth, must have left only partly filled.

  Many explanations are forthcoming, one being that the passengers were unwilling to leave the ship. When the earlier boats left, and before the Titanic had begun materially to settle down, there was a drop of 65 feet from the boat deck to the water, and the women feared to get into the boats. Many people thought that the risk in the ship was less than the risk in the boats.

  At one time, the Master appears to have had the intention of putting the people into the boats from the gangway doors in the side of the ship. This was possibly with a view to allay the fears of the passengers, for the water could be reached from these doors by means of ladders, and the lowering of some of the earlier boats when only partly filled may be accounted for in this way. There is no doubt that the Master did order some of the partly filled boats to row to a position under one of the doors with the object taking in passengers at that point. It appears, however, that these doors were never opened.

  Another explanation is that some women refused to leave their husbands. It is said further that the officers engaged in putting the people into the boats feared that the boats might buckle if they were filled; but this proved to be an unfounded apprehension, for one or more boats were completely filled and then successfully lowered to the water.

  These explanations are perhaps sufficient to account for so many of the lifeboats leaving without a full boat load; but I think, nevertheless, that if the boats had been kept a little longer before being lowered, or if the after gangway doors had been opened, more passengers might have been induced to enter the boats. And if women could not be induced to enter the boats, the boats ought to then to have been filled up with men. It is difficult to account for so many of the lifeboats being sent from the sinking ship, in a smooth sea, far from full. These boats left behind them many hundreds of lives to perish.

  I do not, however, desire these observations to be read as casting any reflection on the officers of the ship or on the crew who were working on the boat deck. They all worked admirably, but I think that if there had been better organisation the results would have been more satisfactory.

  WHY WEREN’T MORE PEOPLE RESCUED FROM THE WATER BY THE LIFEBOATS?

  The US Inquiry

  After lowering, several of the boats rowed many hours in the direction of the lights supposed to have been displayed by the Californian. Other boats lay on their oars in the vicinity of the sinking ship, with few survivors being rescued from the water.

  Your committeex believes that under proper discipline the survivors could have been concentrated into fewer boats after reaching the water, and we think that it would have been possible to have saved many lives if those in charge of the boats had returned promptly to the scene of the disaster.

  The British Inquiry

  I heard much evidence as to the conduct of the boats after the Titanic sank and when there must have been many struggling people in the water, and I regret to say that in my opinion some, at all events, of the boats failed to attempt to save lives when they might have done so, and might have done so successfully. This was particularly the case of boat No 1.y It may reasonably have been thought that the risk of making the attempt was too great; but it seems to me that if the attempt had been made by some of these boats, it might have been the means of saving a few more lives.

  WERE THE LIFEBOATS PROPERLY EQUIPPED?

  The British Inquiry

  In ordinary circumstances all these boats (with the exception of Nos 1 and 2) were kept covered up, and contained only a portion of their equipment, such as oars, masts and sails, and water; some of the remaining portion, such as lamps, compasses and biscuits being stowed in the ship in some convenient place, ready for use when required. Much examination was directed at the hearing to show that some boats left the ship without a lamp and others without a compass and so on, but in the circumstances of confusion and excitement which existed at the time of the disaster, this seems to me to be excusable.

  The 14 lifeboats, two emergency boats, and C and D collapsible boats were sent away in a seaworthy condition, but some of them were possibly undermanned. The evidence on this point was unsatisfactory. The total number of crew taken on board the Carpathia exceeded the number which would be required for manning the boats. The collapsible boats A and B appeared to have floated off the ship at the time she foundered. The necessary equipment and provisions for the boats were carried in the ship, but some of the boats, nevertheless, left without having their full equipment in them.

  WAS THERE A LIFEBOAT DRILL AND/OR BOAT MUSTER LIST?

  The US Inquiry

  Many of the crew did not join the ship until a few hours before sailing, and the only drill while the vessel lay at Southampton or on the voyage consisted in lowering two lifeboats on the starboard side into the water, which boats were again hoisted to the boat deck within a half hour. No boat list designating the stations of members of the crew was posted until several days after sailing from Southampton, boatmen being left in ignorance of their proper stations until the following Friday morning.

  The British Inquiry

  There had been no proper boat drill nor a muster. It was explained that great difficulty frequently exists in getting firemen to take part in a boat drill. They regard it as no part of their work. There seem to be no statutory requirements as to boat drills or musters. Each member of the crew had a boat assigned to him in printed lists which were posted up in convenient places for the men to see; but it appeared that in some cases the men had not looked at these lists and did not know their respective boats.

  WHY WERE SO FEW BODIES FOUND?

  The US Inquiry

  The committee directs attention to the fact that Captain Rostron, of the Carpathia, although four hours in the vicinity of the accident, saw only one body, and that Captain Lord, of the Californian, who remained three hours in the vicinity of the wreckage, saw none. The failure of the captain of the Carpathia, of the captain of the Californian, and of the captain of the Mount Temple to find bodies floating in that vicinity in the early morning of the day following can only be accounted for on the theory that those who went down with the ship either did not rise to the surface or were carried away or hidden by the extensive ice floe which during the night came down over the spot where the ship disappeared, while those bodies which have been found remote from the place where the ship went down were probably carried away from the scene by the currents or by the movement of the ice.

  DID SIR COSMO BRIBE THE CREW?

  The British Inquiry

  The very gross charge against Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon that, having got into No 1 boat, he bribed the men in it to row away from the drowning people is unfounded. I have said that the members of the crew in that boat might have made some attempt to save the people in the water, and that such an attempt would probably have been successful; but I do not believe that the men were deterred from making the attempt by any act of Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon’s. At the same time I think that if he had encouraged to the men to return to the position where the Titanic had foundered they would probably have made an effort to do so and could have saved some lives.

  DID MR ISMAY LEAVE THE SHIP TOO SOON?

  The British Inquiry

  As to the attack on Mr Bruce Ismay, it resolved itself into the suggestion that, occupying the position of Managing Director of the Steamship Company, some moral duty was imposed upon him to wait on board until the vessel foundered. I do not agree. Mr Ismay, after rendering assistance to many passengers, found C collapsible, the last boat on the starboard side, actually bei
ng lowered. No other people were there at the time. There was room for him and he jumped in. Had he not jumped in, he would merely have added one more life, namely, his own, to the number of those lost.

  DID BRIDE AND COTTAM BEHAVE IMPROPERLY?

  The US Inquiry

  The committee does not believe that the wireless operator on the Carpathia showed proper vigilance in handling the important work confided to his care after the accident. Information concerning an accident at sea had been used by a wireless operator prior to this accident for his own advantage. That such procedure had been permitted by the Marconi Company may have had its effect on this occasion. The disposition of officials of the Marconi Company to permit this practice and the fact of that company’s representatives making the arrangements for the sale of the experiences of the operators of the Titanic and Carpathia subjects the participants to criticism, and the practice should be prohibited. The committee are pleased to note that Mr Marconi approves of such prohibition.

  WERE THE LOOKOUTS NEGLIGENT?

  The British Inquiry

  The men in the crow’s nest were warned at 9.30pm to keep a sharp lookout for ice; the officer of the watch was then aware that he had reached the reported ice region, and so also was the officer who relieved him at 10pm. Without implying that those actually on duty were not keeping a good lookout, in view of the night being moonless, there being no wind and perhaps very little swell, and especially in view of the high speed at which the vessel was running, it is not considered that the lookout was sufficient. An extra lookout should, under the circumstances, have been placed at the stemhead, and a sharp lookout should have been kept from both sides of the bridge by an officer.

  WAS THE CALIFORNIAN NEGLIGENT?

  The US Inquiry

  16 witnesses from the Titanic, including officers, an experienced seaman, and passengers of sound judgement, testified seeing the light of a ship in the distance, and some of the lifeboats were directed to pull for that light, to leave the passengers and return to the side of the Titanic [to pick up more passengers]. The Titanic fired distress rockets and attempted to signal by electric lamp and Morse code to this vessel.

  At about the same time the officers of the Californian admit seeing rockets in the general direction of the Titanic and say that they immediately displayed a powerful Morse lamp, which could be easily seen a distance of ten miles off. Several of the crew of the Californian testify that the side lights of a large vessel going at full speed were plainly visible from the lower deck of the Californian at 11.30pm, ship’s time, just before the accident. There’s no evidence that any rockets were fired by any vessel between the Titanic and the Californian, although every eye on the Titanic was searching the horizon for possible assistance.

  The committee is forced to the inevitable conclusion that the Californian, controlled by the same company, was nearer the Titanic than the 19 miles reported by her captain, and that her officers and crew saw the distress signals of the Titanic and failed to respond to them in accordance with the dictates of humanity, international usage, and the requirements of the law. The only reply to the distress signals was a counter signal from a large white light, which was flashed for nearly two hours from the mast of the Californian. In our opinion such conduct, whether arising from indifference or gross carelessness, is most reprehensible, and places upon the commander of the Californian a grave responsibility.

  Had assistance been promptly proffered, or had the wireless operator of the Californian remained a few minutes longer at his post on Sunday evening, that ship might have had the proud distinction of rescuing the lives of the passengers and crew of the Titanic.

  The British Inquiry

  The circumstances revealed during the inquiry convince me that the ship seen by the Californian was the Titanic, and if so, according to Captain Lord, the two vessels were about five miles apart at the time of the disaster. The evidence from the Titanic corroborates this estimate, but I am advised that the distance was probably greater, though not more than eight to ten miles. The ice by which the Californian was surrounded was loose ice extending for a distance of not more than two or three miles in the direction of the Titanic. The night was clear and the sea was smooth. When she first saw the rockets, the Californian could have pushed through the ice to the open water without any serious risk and so have come to the assistance of the Titanic. Had she done so she might have saved many, if not all, of the lives that were lost.

  DID THE OFFICERS, CREW AND PASSENGERS BEHAVE CORRECTLY?

  The US Inquiry

  The ice positions said to have been reported to the Titanic just preceding the accident located ice on both sides of the Titanic or the lane which the Titanic was following, and in her immediate vicinity. No general discussion took place among the officers; no conference was called to consider these warnings; no heed was given to them. The speed was not relaxed, the lookout was not increased, and the only vigilance displayed by the officer of the watch was by instructions to the lookout to keep ‘a sharp lookout for ice’.

  It should be said, however, the testimony shows Captain Smith remarked to officer Lightoller, who was the officer doing duty on the bridge until ten o’clock ship’s time, or 8.27 New York time, ‘if it was in a slight degree hazy there would be no doubt we should have to go very slowly’, and ‘if in the slightest degree doubtful, let me know’. The evidence is that it was exceptionally clear. There was no haze, and the ship’s speed was not reduced.

  The British Inquiry

  The evidence satisfies me that the officers did their work very well and without any thought of themselves. Captain Smith, the Master, Mr Wilde, the chief officer, Mr Murdoch, the first officer, and Mr Moody, the sixth officer, all went down with the ship while performing their duties. The others, with the exception of Mr Lightoller, took charge of boats and thus were saved. Mr Lightoller was swept off the deck as the vessel went down and was subsequently picked up.

  The discipline both among passengers and crew during the lowering of the boats was good, but the organisation should have been better, and if it had been it is possible that more lives would have been saved.

  Subject to these few adverse comments, I have nothing but praise for both passengers and crew. All the witnesses speak well of their behaviour. It is to be remembered that the night was dark, the noise of the escaping steam was terrifying, the peril, though perhaps not generally recognised, was imminent and great, and many passengers who were unable to speak or to understand English were being collected together and hurried into the boats.

  During the inquiry, there was a tendency in the evidence to exaggerate the numbers in each boat, to exaggerate the proportion of women to men, and to diminish the number of crew. I do not attribute this to any wish on the part of the witnesses to mislead the Court, but to a natural desire to make the best case for themselves and their ship. The seamen who gave evidence were too frequently encouraged when under examination in the witness box to understate the number of crew in the boats. The number of crew actually saved was 189, giving an average of ten per boat.

  WAS THE MESSAGE FROM THE BALTIC PROPERLY DEALT WITH?

  The British Inquiry

  Mr Ismay was on board the Titanic, and it appears that the Master handed the Baltic’s message to him almost immediately after it was received. This no doubt was in order that he might know that ice was to be expected. Mr Ismay showed this message to two ladies, and it is therefore probable that many persons on board became aware of its contents. This message ought in my opinion to have been put on the board in the chart room as soon as it was received. It remained, however, in Mr Ismay’s possession until 7.15pm, when the Master asked him to return it. It was then that it was first posted in the chart room.

  This was considerably before the time at which the vessel reached the position recorded in the message. Nevertheless, I think it was irregular for the Master to part with the document, and improper for Mr Ismay to retain it, but the incident had, in my opinion, no connection with or in
fluence upon the manner in which the vessel was navigated by the Master.

  WAS THE MESSAGE FROM THE AMERIKA PROPERLY DEALT WITH?

  The British Inquiry

  Being a message affecting navigation, the message from the Amerika should in the ordinary course have been taken to the bridge. So far as can be ascertained, it was never heard of by anyone on board the Titanic outside the Marconi room. There were two Marconi operators in the Marconi room, namely, Phillips, who perished, and Bride, who survived and gave evidence. Bride did not receive the Amerika message nor did Phillips mention it to him, though the two had much conversation together after it had been received. I am of opinion that when this message reached the Marconi room it was put aside by Phillips to wait until the Titanic would be within call of Cape Race, and that it was never handed to any officer of the Titanic.

  WAS THE MESSAGE FROM THE MESABA PROPERLY DEALT WITH?