The Titanic (investigation into disaster)

Arrival of the Carpathia into New York city

The Carpathia took 3 days to get to New York after leaving the site where the Titanic sank. The Journey was slowed down due to pack ice, thunderstorms and fog. It arrived on the 18th April 1912 at 9.30pm.

This Boat was able to confirm what had actually happened to the Titanic to eradicate any confusion that people around the world had about it. The confusion was mainly due to the press typing incorrect details on what had happened. The American press incorrectly stated that the Titanic was getting towed in by another boat called the SS Virginian.

when the News came about the Titanic People flooded to the White Star Line offices in London, New York, Montreal, Southampton, Liverpool and Belfast. The news hit very hard in Southampton as many of the Deceased were from there; records show 4 out of 5 crew members were from here.

When the Carpathia docked in New York city the boat was greeted by around 40,000 people waiting at the Quayside in heavy rain. 

Many charitable organisations (link to page at bottom) came with clothes and transportation to shelters where the victims could stay whilst everything was being sorted however, many of the passengers didn't linger in New York, most went to relatives homes as soon as they could.

After this the Carpathia was quickly restocked for its Journey towards Australia, all crew got a months bonus for helping the victims and also, some of the victims pulled money together to give to the crew for their help, in the sum of 900 pounds (75, 447 today). 

Press Interest

The ships arrival into the dock instantly caused a press frenzy, with many of the newspapers around the world trying to compete to get the first survivor story.

Many of the press bribed their way onto the pilot boat that guided the Carpathia, one of them even got on board the Carpathia before in docked!

it took 4 days for the list of casualties to be released to the public. 

Charities

Many Charities were set up to help the survivors and also the familys of the victims, many of whom were the sole breadwinner for the family or in the 3rd class peoples cases - everything they may have ever owned. 

On 29th April Opera stars Enrico Caruso and Mary Garden and also, the members of the Metropolitan Opera House rasied $12,000 in Benefits for the victims in the disaster by setting up special concerts.

In Britain relief funds were organised for the families of Titanics lost crew members, they raised 540,000 pounds.

Investigations

Before the survivors even set foot in New York city, investigators were being organised and planning to investigate what had happened to the Titanic, this was also so it could be prevented from happening in the future. The inquiries were based in the United States and Britain.

The US Senates inquiry began on the 19th April and were leaded by Chairman and Senator William Alden Smith. He wanted to get accounts from all the survivors as soon as possible as he wanted there accounts as fresh as it could be from their memories. However, this caused issues for the British to start their inquiry as it prevented the english survivors from getting home quick enough to give them an accurate account of what happened.

The British Board of Trade's Inquiry into the disaster was headed by Lord Mersey and took place between 2nd May and 3rd July.

They came up with a few different conclusions from the Inquiries.

1. The regulation of the number of Lifeboats that ships had to carry were out of date and inadequate.

2. Captain Smith failed to take proper heed of Ice warnings.

3. The Lifeboats had not been properly filled or crewed.

4. The collision was a direct result of steaming into a dangerous area in high speed.

Neither inquiries suggested negligence by the IMM or White Star Line as a factor.

Changes to the Maritime regulations

The recommendations to change the Maritime regulations were very major, mainly to implement new and modern safety measures.

The main safety measure was to make sure there was enough lifeboats on board for each person that was on too.

there was also...

• lifeboat drills were properly carried out
• wireless equipment of passenger ships was manned around the clock
• International Ice patrol was set up to monitor the presence of icebergs in the North Atlantic
• Maritime safety regulations were harmonised internationally through the 'International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea'

REFERENCES

 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic

 - http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org
 - http://www.titanicbelfast.com/Discover/Titanic-Stories/Who-launched-Titanic-.aspx
 - Rebecca Aldridge (2008). The Sinking of the Titanic. New York: Infobase Publishing. p33-75.
 - Jay Henry Mowbray (2012). The Sinking of the Titanic (Extended Edition). Germany: JazzyBee Verlag, 2012. p23-33.
 - The Titanic Belfast Museum
 - The Titanic Exhibit Las Vegas

Reflection of research

Reflecting back I am happy with the wide range of resources I have used as it really helped me dig into what happened after the sinking of the Titanic ship. 

The best sources i used are the museum and exhibit as they really taught me a lot about the Titanic and it made me feel like i was getting out and doing something rather than just sitting in and reading book/ finding websites about the disaster. 

I feel they all worked together to give me great insight.