Titanic anniversary: The myth of the unsinkable ship

[Evil Eye]

Design and technology innovations may have revolutionised ship safety in the 100 years since the Titanic’s fateful maiden voyage, but no-one will dare repeat the foolhardy boast



There is no danger that Titanic will sink. The boat is unsinkable and nothing but inconvenience will be suffered by the passengers.

Phillip Franklin, White Star Line vice-president, 1912



Words that have gone down in history, for all the wrong reasons. At latitude 41° 43' 32 north, longitude 49° 56' 49 west, 370 miles (595 kilometres) southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2.5 miles (4 km) down lays the wreck of the RMS Titanic. The rust-coloured remains rest in two parts, the stern around 2,000 feet (600 metres) from the bow and facing in opposite directions.



The belated iceberg spot, a failed swerve, the lack of lifeboats and the loss of over 1,500 lives – roughly 70% of the ship's passengers and crew – the sinking of the largest and most luxurious ship built at the time has become immortalized in popular history, inspiring documentaries, television dramas and Hollywood blockbusters.



It also has become immortalized in shipping history. The ship’s maiden voyage that ended in tragedy on 14 April 1912 forced a huge rethink over design and features in a number of ways, many of which still exist today. As a result, ships are built better and safer than ever before – while the world commercial shipping fleet has trebled to over 100,000 vessels, shipping losses have decreased significantly from one ship in 100 per year in Titanic’s time to one ship in 670 per year, according to a report published last month by specialist marine insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty.



But as the recent Costa Concordia incident showed, we are still a long way from fulfilling Franklin’s infamous boast. The bottom line is no ship is unsinkable, says Tony Selman, vice chairman of the Radio Officers' Association. No matter how safe a ship is, if you drive it full speed into a rock it is likely to sink.”



That said, Selman admits the chances of not getting into such a perilous scenario are “infinitesimally better than they were 100 years ago”. BBC Future outlines how these odds are being shifted continually in our favour, how designers, engineers and operators are working to safeguard against such a disaster happening again, and the barriers that still stand in their way.

Full article: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120402-the-myth-of-the-unsinkable-ship/





Ever been on a big passenger ship for long than a few hours?