Titanic Tragedy

Who was responsible for the loss of life with the sinking of the Titanic? By Rebecca Gutteridge Year 9

RMS Titanic, so called the ‘unsinkable ship’, became the largest maritime disaster in history when she hit an iceberg on her maiden voyage through the North Atlantic. Much indecision surrounds the blame circle of the sinking of the largest vessel ever built and there are many theories which divide experts even today. However many believe it is an accident which could have been averted. I believe that a combination of factors are at fault. Harland and Wolff Harland and Wolff had difficulty finding enough workers, and in an effort to save money employed poor riveters from small forges; the work needed was very skilled and each rivet was hand crafted. In the British inquiry Harland and Wolff were accused of importing less rivets than were needed and sub-­‐standard iron to save money. The rivets used for the majority of the ship were only crafted from iron which is weaker than steel – considered state of the art at the time. Only the central hull used steel rivets as wrought iron was easier to work by hand. The iceberg ripped along the hull which