 |
| Titanic as portrayed in the film. |
The Titanic is one of the most iconic ships to ever exist. The implication of the ship into a multi-million dollar film helped to increase the reputation of the already iconic ocean liner. The ship was initially marketed to the public as being “unsinkable” and “the ship of dreams” for its maiden voyage from Southampton England to New York City. The ship left pier on April 10th 1912 and sailed into history as one of the worst maritime disasters in human history.
The construction of
the Titanic began in March of 1909 in the Harland and Wolff Shipyards of
Belfast Ireland.
 |
| The Grand Staircase of the Titanic |
The construction of the
ship took approximately three years to complete, and it was marveled as one of
the biggest technological advancements of the time. The ship featured one of
the most luxurious interiors in first and second class, and was the largest ship
on the ocean of the time. The interior featured advancements such as electric
lifts, electric lighting in all of the rooms, electric ice-cream makers as well
as walk-in freezers for the galley, an indoor heated swimming pool, a Turkish bath
spa and the iconic grand staircase on C deck. The ship’s lavish interior also
boasted luxuries such as the Parisian Café on the stern of the ship, a first
class smoking room, a library, a fully functional gymnasium filled with cutting
edge equipment and an on-board mailroom which provided full time service to all
passengers on board.
The safety features that were on-board
included watertight bulkheads build into the frame work of the ship. There were
16 bulkheads in the ship went as high as E deck on the ship. This put the tops
of the watertight compartments to be three decks above the waterline of the
ship. The bulkheads were not completely sealed in order to ensure that the all
parts of the ship were easily acceptable, and only when three decks above the
waterline, lead to the ultimate downfall of the great ship. Another safety
feature incorporated into the initial design of the ship was the use of
lifeboat lowering davits capable of accommodating a first and second row of
lifeboats. However, the call for an inner row of lifeboats was denied by the
board in charge of the shipping company in order to make more decks pace for
the first and second class passengers to enjoy. This lead to the Titanic
leaving Southampton with only one row of lifeboats on each side of the ship rated
to approximately 70 men each, as well as two collapsible lifeboats stored on
either side of funnel number one of the ship. This left the ship with only the
capacity to evacuate 1,178 of the 3,327 passengers and crew able to be on-board
at the maximum capacity of the ship. This contributed to the great loss of life
of the 2220 people who were on-board during the maiden voyage in 1912.
 |
| Advertisement for the Titanic 2 luxury liner. |
The sinking of the
ship, and the resulting loss of life from the sinking of the ship resulted in a
great number of safety reforms and regulations for the passenger liner
industry. The one major reform was the incorporation of the correct number of
lifeboats on-board for the number of people that could be housed on-board at
full capacity. This regulation has stayed in affect to this day, and has also
evolved to incorporate the requirement for an certain number of inflatable
secondary lifeboats as well as survival supplies to be on-board at all times.
However, the reputation of the Titanic may not end just with the regulations
resulting from its sinking. There have been plans to create a full scale
replica of the ship for the public to once again gaze upon the vast scale of
this legendary ship. Plans to build a fully functioning replica of the ship was
first announced by the Australian business tycoon Clive Palmer as the flagship
of his Blue Star Line. The ship would feature all of the luxurious craftsmanship
of the original ship, as well as modern safety features ranging from
1.
Modern safety equipment in compliance with
maritime regulations
2.
Enough lifeboats to safely evacuate all
passengers
3.
Diesel electric engines to replace the original
steam driven engines
4.
Modern propulsion systems to make for a smoother
voyage
 |
| Construction progress on the Titanic 2. |
The replica of the
ship was scheduled to be built in a Chinese shipyard that is usually tasked
with building long-haul container ships and oil tankers. However, rumors have
stated that the plans to create a replica that will function as an ocean liner
have ceased. Injunctions and other financial barriers have been imposed against
Mr. Palmer over the course of construction of the so-called replica. Instead, the
replica of the ship being constructed in the shipyard has been said to be
purchased by a theme park in China for use as a tourist attraction. The ship
will still be a full scale replica of the original Titanic, but will not have
all of the modern safety and mechanical components because the ship will not be
leaving the pier that has been constructed for it on the theme park’s adjoining
river. Whether these rumors are true, or the replica being constructed will set
sail as a luxury liner, the Titanic will once again be able to be seen by the world
as it looked on April 10th, 1912.
No comments:
Post a Comment