Introduction
The sinking of the Titanic is one of the worst sea tragedies. The cause of the tragedy is believed to have been a collision with an iceberg in the near-freezing Atlantic Ocean, but forensic investigations revealed more flaws in the design of the ship. The ship was inadequately equipped with lifeboats and had initial design flaws which resulted in water flowing from one watertight compartment to another. Moreover, there were communication flaws which meant that distress calls could not be received quickly while other findings revealed that some of the structural components were too weak to sustain the freezing waters. Lessons learned from the catastrophic event include the fact that the design and construction of ships need to be carefully considered to avoid operational failures. Additionally, it is imperative for regulatory standards to consider all aspects of safety that are necessary for preventing the occurrence of tragedies that claim many lives. This report, therefore, discusses the sinking of Titanic, factors that contributed to the tragedy as well as solutions generated to prevent similar incidences in the future.
Titanic was a British passenger ship that sank in the Atlantic Ocean on 15 the April 1912. Among the passengers were wealthy businesspeople as well as hundreds of immigrants from Ireland and Britain, who were looking for a new life in America. The catastrophe is reported to have occurred after the ship hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York with 2224 passengers on board. The ship was filled with water due to the failure of watertight compartments hence making it difficult for the majority of the passengers to survive. 1500 passengers died when the ship sank, most of them men, since the evacuation protocol observed is that women and children have to be evacuated first.
The high number of deaths could be attributed to the fact that the ship lacked enough lifeboats to accommodate all the passengers who were on board, a situation which was linked to outdated sea safety regulations. There were only 16 lifeboats which could only accommodate a third of the carrying capacity of the Titanic. The fact that Titanic had a passenger capacity of 2435 and an additional crew of 900 personnel means that the 16 lifeboats available could not save the majority of the victim. However, it is ironical that the number of lifeboats available in Titanic exceeded the British Board of Trade’s Regulations hence implying that regulatory failures also contributed to the high number of deaths witnessed. Moreover, forensic investigations on the events that led to the sinking also revealed that the ship’s steel plates were too brittle for the freezing Atlantic waters thereby causing the rivets to pop while expansion joints failed.
Public inquiries in Britain and the United States revealed that there were major gaps in the regulations and that maritime safety standards and procedures needed to be improved. Among the solutions achieved was the establishment of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea that was to enhance quicker response in case of technical hitches. Moreover, more use of wireless communication necessary in enabling passengers to contact various emergency response teams as well as their relatives and friends was also addressed. The recommendations by the British and United States Commission also made it clear that ships were to carry enough lifeboats for all aboard with inspections done before ships began their voyage. Additionally, there were various Acts such as the Radio Act of 1912 that were passed with the aim of improving communications so that distress calls would be responded to quickly.
Conclusion
The cause of Titanic catastrophe is believed to be a collision with an iceberg in the near-freezing Atlantic waters. However, inquiries reveal that there were major operational failures such as the ship being inadequately equipped with lifeboats and a failure on the part of the designers to innovatively build the watertight compartments to avoid sea water moving across compartments. Moreover, there were communications limitations such that distress calls could not be received quickly while other findings revealed that some of the structural components were too weak to sustain the freezing waters. The lessons from the catastrophe include the fact that designers and regulatory authorities need to work together in identifying all hazards to enhance the safety of people.
References
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Yu, F.-L., 2012. The Sinking of the Unsinkable Titanic: Mental Inertia and Coordination Failures, Hong Kong: Hong Kong Shue Yan University.
