The Aftermath of the Titanic
Ifiok O Ekong
November 5, 2012

Abstract
The “unsinkable” mother of all ships was a massive palace with intentions to stay afloat for days even in a worst case scenario. She was almost 900 feet long and almost 11 stories high, but in less than four hours, years of investment came to an end. Clearly an investigation to mitigate future disaster unfolded and the results were mind blowing.
”In the construction of the Titanic no limit of cost circumscribed their endeavor, and when this vessel took its place at the head of the line every modern improvement in shipbuilding was supposed to have been realized; so confident were they that both owner and builder were eager to go upon the trial trip; no sufficient tests were made of boilers or bulkheads or gearing or equipment, and no life-saving or signal devices were reviewed; officers and crew were strangers to one another and passengers to both; neither was familiar with the vessel or its implements or tools; no drill or station practice or helpful discipline disturbed the tranquility of that voyage, and when the crisis came a state of absolute unpreparedness stupefied both passengers and crew, and in their despair the ship went down, carrying as needless a sacrifice of noble women and brave men as ever clustered about the Judgment Seat in any single moment of passing time”. (Smith. 1912).
Recommendation from the investigation panel was suggested, with stringent declaration. According to Senator Raynor, from his findings he recommended sufficient amount of lifeboat and ships be equipped with adequate wireless communication devises. He insisted recommendation be fully furnished as a statute to all foreign ships entering or leaving American sea ports. (Raynor).

The Aftermath of the Titanic
Over a century ago, on April 14, 1912, the Titanic, on a cruise from England to the United States, collided with a massive iceberg in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic. As a result of this collision the Titanic sank in less than three hours. Of those 2,205 passengers and crew 705 survived. Prior to this tragedy, The White Star steamship, the company who built the Titanic presumed that even in the worst possible scenario, the Titanic would stay afloat for days. Factors that could have mitigated this tragedy should have begun with Operational Risk Management (ORM). There was always the potential for a default with the ships construction, but by naming the ship the “unsinkable,” passengers seem to disregard the inevitable. As a result of this historic disaster, stringent safety regulations for ships at sea were established. This regulation addressed specifications in ships design, mandating the use of electronic communication, implementation of the ice patrol, and requirements for a minimum lifeboat capacity.
Some of the flaws discovered upon the sinking of the Titanic were during a scientific expedition where scientists saw evidence in the design and material that contributed to the sinking of the Titanic. Evidently, specifications for the orientation, length, and number of watertight compartments in passenger ships had not been established. Subsequently, the ship builders have modified their design in two ways. First, they added a double bottom that extended up the sides of the hull and they augmented the transverse bulkheads of the watertight compartments. Also, the double bottom on ships are now constructed by taking two layers of steel that span the length of the ship and separating them by five feet of space. With a double bottom, the chance of a punctured hull allowing water into the watertight compartments is minimized drastically. Secondly, the new design raised the ends of the transverse bulkheads, extending the double bottom up the sides of the hull, and adding another layer of steel to the sides of the ship. Ultimately, this will prevent water in the flooded compartments from flowing over the top of the bulkheads into the other compartments, while actively controlling and isolating the flooding in the damaged compartment to that section. “If a hole is made in the side of the ship in any one compartment, steel water-tight doors seal off the only openings in that compartment and separate it as a damaged unit from the rest of the ship and the vessel is brought to land in safety.” (Lawrence, Beesley. 1912) The design flaws would have been tolerable if the means of effective communications was implemented. As a result, significant use of wireless electronic communication is now mandated. On that night following the Titanic collision, several warnings were called in to ships that were aware of her position. However, the closest ship, the Californian radio operator did not realize that the signals sent were distress signals from a ship in the immediate vicinity. “It has been suggested that officers should have a working knowledge of wireless telegraphy, and this is no doubt a wise provision.” (Lawrence, Beesley. 1912) These now stringent regulations require ships at sea above 1600 tons be equipped with wireless equipment. The use of this device has proved to be beneficial to ships because of their abilities to receive weather reports, position checks, and call for help.
With communication between ships, a means of advising the Titanic about the iceberg would have mitigated or eliminated the incident. An advisory could have informed the captain of the ice fields and surrounding icebergs, thus alerting the ship to stop until the morning. “They carried American citizens largely, and entered American ports. It would have been the simplest matter for the United States Government to veto the entry of any ship which did not conform to its laws of regulating speed in conditions of fog and icebergs” (Lawrence, Beesley. 1912)
Based on lessons learned from the Titanic tragedy, the United States government implemented ice patrol to alert ships travelling between England and the United States that are approaching the ice fields. This is necessary because fields of floating bulky ice that are over five miles in dimension tend to shift around, depending on weather conditions. The ice patrol also focuses on studying and observing the ice conditions along the North Atlantic, and further keeps track of the ice fields in relation to a nearby ship. Hence, ships don’t need to constantly monitor the positions of the ice fields.
Finally, if all means had failed, and the crash was not preventable, an adequate amount of lifeboats would have certainly saved the 705 lives that perished. The most prominent change was adding an adequate number of lifeboats to save crew members and passengers on board in case of an unexpected disaster.
“The Titanic carried only enough lifeboats for 1,178 people -- slightly more than half its passengers -- partly because its design and construction were regarded as especially safe and partly because the British Board of Trade set lifeboat requirements by ship tonnage, not the number of souls aboard.” (Klinkenborg. 2012)
Undoubtedly, there was room on deck for twice the number of lifeboats because the Titanic’s design allowed for two rows of lifeboats, yet, less than half the number of lifeboats was provided for the passengers and crew onboard. Also, they removed one row before the voyage began to make the deck more aesthetically pleasing with palm gardens, Turkish baths, and a squash court. The new safety regulation mandates that the required number of lifeboats accommodate all passengers and crew aboard the ship. This requirement is also based on the length and size of the ship, including the number of davits used to raise and lower the lifeboats. The regulation also stresses that if the minimum lifeboat capacity is not met, additional lifeboats are stored under other boats; and for large ships, two of the boats must be motor operated. Additionally, it also demands that each of the lifeboats carry valuable essentials such as oars, sails, a compass, signaling devices, food, and water.
In summary, the sinking of the Titanic became a known disaster in history and everyone was curious to know what caused the rapid sinking of the "unsinkable" ship. In the wake of the Titanic disaster, changes were made in shipbuilding design and safety regulations in an effort to decrease the casualties from accidents at sea and most importantly to prevent the reoccurrence of such tragedy. Several theories were developed since the sinking, to explain the events that occurred on that night. Subsequently, after the disaster double-sided hulls were added to ships and the transverse bulkheads of the watertight compartments were raised. Safety regulations were also established, to include the mandatory use of the wireless communications, the implementation of the ice patrol, and most importantly, the minimum lifeboat capacity.

Reference
BEESLEY, L. (1912). PROJECT GUTENBERG. It story and Its Lessons, 6675.
STACK, J. (2012). UNSINKABLE, UNTHINKABLE TITANIC. Coin World, 53(2712), 4-49.
KLINKENBORG, V. (2012). AMERICAN HISTORY. It was Titanic. Vol. 47 Issue 1, p34-41.
Wormstedt, B. (2012). United States Senate Inquiry Report. Retrieved from Titanic Inquiry Project website: http://www.titanicinquiry.org