Introduction
"Unsinkable". This was how the Royal Mail Steamer Titanic was unanimously described in bold headlines by the chroniclers of the era. Indeed, safety was one of the fundamental pillars of this colossal steamship, conceived as a true revolution in transatlantic travel.
Safety, Distinction, and Unprecedented Dimensions
With its watertight doors closed, the Titanic could remain afloat even if two of its 16 compartments were flooded—or even if the first four were completely filled with water.
Moreover, it was equipped with the Marconi wireless system, which at the time was a genuine novelty and a crucial safety feature, as it allowed operators to transmit emergency calls.
Fitted with 20 lifeboats, with a total capacity of 1,178 people, it exceeded the legally required number—though it would have needed triple that number to save all passengers.
However, the meticulous implementation of these safety measures was not the Titanic's only appeal: an ostentatious display of luxury in first class aimed to justify the £870 fare (compared to the £2 paid by third-class passengers).
Thus, to ensure an unparalleled onboard experience during the boat excursion, the interior boasted 28 lavish lounges—the grandest featuring a wooden staircase with a glass skylight—and suites decorated in Louis XV style. Additionally, the monumental ship was furnished with facilities such as a gymnasium, a squash court, four lifts, and several Turkish baths reserved for privileged first-class passengers. The inclusion of the Café Parisien, a restaurant in the purest French fashion, was another hallmark of the distinguished Titanic.
Alongside safety and luxury, the Titanic's staggering dimensions must be emphasised. Indeed, its name was no accident: the word "titan," derived from Greek mythology, alluded to a giant renowned for its immense strength and size.
Titanic was precisely the name the White Star Line sought to christen its creation, measuring 300 metres in length and 30 in beam. Propelled by two steam engines—powered by 29 boilers—three propellers, and a turbine, the ship could reach a speed of 22 knots.
Its crew numbered around 900, which, combined with passengers from all three classes, totalled 2,227 people. As such, vast quantities of provisions were required: food and drink alone included 40 tonnes of potatoes, over 600 pounds of butter, and more than two tonnes of coffee, alongside 20,000 bottles of beer and 15,000 of mineral water.
Hundreds of mail sacks were also transported. The prefix R.M.S (Royal Mail Steamer) indicated that the ship was legally authorised by the British Monarchy and the United States for this duty, much like two other vessels—the Olympic and the Gigantic—owned by the White Star Line and virtually identical to the Titanic in size and structure, though the latter was destined to be the company's flagship.
The Irreparable Collision
The Titanic, constructed at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Ireland, cost approximately 8.5 billion pesetas and departed Belfast on the afternoon of 2 April 1912, with its first port of call in Southampton (England). There, it remained for a week undergoing final adjustments before its maiden transatlantic voyage, intended to set a record. After brief stops in Cherbourg (France) and Queenstown (Ireland), the Titanic was set to reach its final destination: New York.
Despite a coal shortage in Southampton due to a six-week national miners' strike, the Titanic departed on schedule on 10 April.
Eager to satisfy passengers' impatience to reach New York, veteran Captain Edward J. Smith increased speed to maximum on the fourth day of the voyage.
On that fateful 14 April, the Titanic received seven iceberg warnings—all ignored. At 23:40, travelling at 22.5 knots, the White Star liner struck an iceberg on its starboard side, puncturing the double hull. Initially, no one grasped the severity of the collision; in fact, third-class passengers even played football with ice that had fallen onto the deck.
The first five compartments flooded, causing the bow to dip so severely that water began spilling into adjacent sections.
By midnight, the Titanic had sent its first distress call, received by five ships. The steamer Californian, mere miles away, ignored the signals entirely, while the Carpathia immediately set course to assist (though it arrived only at dawn, saving many passengers).
Thomas Andrews, Harland & Wolff's manager, assessed the situation and estimated they had at most two hours before the ship sank.
Critical errors marred the evacuation. Early lifeboats were launched half-empty, and though the Titanic had two water pumps capable of delaying flooding, their power was diverted to lighting and the wireless.
To ease collective panic, a famous anecdote recounts how the orchestra played throughout the two-and-a-half-hour sinking—starting in the first-class lounge and ending on the lifeboat deck.
Ultimately, the ship split in two—as later investigations proved, the steel used for the hull was extremely brittle due to high sulphur content. The bow sank instantly, while the stern rose vertically, exposing the helplessness of those clinging to railings, who froze to death.
At 2:20 AM on 15 April 1912, within two minutes, the Titanic vanished entirely, swallowed by the frigid North Atlantic to rest at a depth of roughly 4,000 metres.
This disaster prompted the 1914 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, mandating sufficient lifeboats for all passengers and establishing the International Ice Patrol to warn ships of icebergs.
Location and Recovery Attempts
A plan to locate the wreck emerged just five days after the tragedy. In 1913, architect Charles Smith proposed using a submarine with electromagnets to raise the hull. Another idea involved attaching magnets to floats. These discussions stalled during World War I, the economic crisis, and World War II.
The first serious scientific attempt came in 1980, led by oil tycoon Jack Grimm—who had previously funded Loch Ness Monster expeditions. Grimm's sonar searches across 600 square miles, in collaboration with Columbia University's Geological Observatory, yielded no results.
Finally, in 1985, a joint American-French expedition led by Dr Robert Ballard located the Titanic at a precise depth of 3,810 metres, 531 kilometres off Newfoundland's coast.
The deep-sea submersible Alvin was specially designed to withstand the crushing pressure at such depths.
Subsequently, RMS Titanic Inc. organised multiple expeditions using the Nautile submarine, operational to 6,100 metres.
Its bright yellow shell encases a titanium sphere just two metres wide, housing a three-man crew. A standard Nautile dive lasts 10–11 hours, including one hour to descend and 90 minutes to surface.
As the submersible descends and temperatures drop, crew breath condenses, and the ocean's blue fades to abyssal black. The Nautile's position is constantly monitored via electronic communications, and the entire mission is recorded.
It also features two hydraulic arms: the left handles delicate tasks with a 360-degree rotating wrist, while the right recovers heavier artefacts.
Over numerous dives, 4,000 remarkably preserved objects—a result of near-freezing depths—have been recovered.
Their pristine condition and historical value led to the RMS Titanic Museum and displays at London's National Maritime Museum.
