Risk Management - Titanic

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Risk Management - Titanic

1. Introduction

The main focus of this report will analyse the failure to manage the risks, which led to the Titanic disaster that occurred in April 11. The areas, which will be looked into, include what caused the accident, the risks that were underestimated and also any apparent risk management strategy. The report will also detail the reasons for mishandling the risks and their implications and also highlight any lessons, which were learnt from the occurrence of this disaster.

The RMS Titanic was the biggest ship built to that date. It was to be a maritime legend at the cutting edge of ship design. The Titanic was thought to be unsinkable because it had sixteen watertight compartments that rose well above the water level.




AT the time ships were expected to stay afloat for a number of hours, even days and in the busy shipping lanes of the Atlantic would have plenty opportunity for rescue. With this in mind it was designed to stay afloat with two or even three watertight compartments flooded.

She was the largest moving object ever to be designed and built by human beings. At the time the British maritime industry had fallen behind their European counterparts, especially Germany. The Titanic was to be a sign that the British industry was back to its best and the White Star Line, the company that owned the Titanic, was at the forefront. Safety was of the utmost importance, reflected by her double-bottomed hull and complex system of watertight compartments.

The Titanic left Southampton on its maiden voyage on 10 April11. This was to be its first and last departure.

. Risks

On April 14 11 at 1140 PM the RMS Titanic, on her maiden voyage, struck an iceberg. The collision was not head-on but the Titanic eventually sank at 0 am.

.1. Poor design

The Titanic had 16 watertight compartments and the designer Thomas Andrews said the ship could stay afloat with 4 of them flooded. However the walls of the compartments only rose part of the way up the ship and the compartments could not be completely sealed, as there was no ceiling. In the event of a compartment being flooded, thick steel bulkhead doors could be closed sealing the compartment. The risk of not sealing the compartments completely was a great one and turned out to be a fatal one. The owners, White Star Line, did not see this as taking a risk however as the ship was designed to float with of the compartments flooded. When the ship struck the iceberg it put a gash in the side of the ship resulting in 6 of the compartments being flooded. As there was no ceiling the water spilled over the top flooding each one in turn causing the ship to sink by the bow.

In addition to this poor design the rudder was not large enough to steer a ship of this size. There were two large stern propellers at the rear, which were used to power and steer the ship. The direction of the ship was directed by the rudder, which was controlled from the bridge by means of a steering wheel. The rudder directed the flow of water from the propellers moving the ship to port or starboard. The propellers were so large and the rudder so small it made it difficult to steer the boat under emergency conditions. The rudder was smaller than it should have been because the owners wanted to save money. They took this risk as they thought the size of the rudder would be sufficient. This cost saving risk proved a very large one as the ship was unable to turn to avoid collision with the iceberg.

(Marriott, Leo 17), Titanic TRC Publishing Ltd

The first warning of this difficulty to turn was when the ship pulled out the harbour from Southampton. A nearby boat, the New York was pulled into the boat’s wake due to the large suction force from such large propellers. The ship was unable to avoid collision and it was only by the work of tugboats, which pushed the New York back into its position in the harbour.

When the iceberg was spotted avoidance measures was taken. These included switching the engines to ‘hard astern’ and the wheel hard to port. In usual circumstances with propellers and rudders equally matched this manoeuvre would avoid a collision. Although the ship did turn, it did not turn quickly or hard enough.

.. Warnings

Prior to the collision with the iceberg, Titanic had received 7 warnings from other ships in the area, of icebergs and packed ice on the route the Titanic was heading. These warnings were received on the Marconi wireless system, but Captain Smith did not receive them all and did not reduce the speed from knots nor change his course to avoid them. This was a very big risk taken by the captain as he put the lives of his passengers and crew at risk. Most ships when warned by icebergs, changed their course south.

The Titanic had stationed two lookouts in the crow’s nest. Their job was to check the course ahead and to warn the bridge of any obstacles or hazards they may encounter. Their job was made more difficult due to a lack of equipment such as binoculars or telescope, which were missing since departure from Southampton. The conditions that high in the ship and the drop in temperature meant that their eyes were streaming and it was difficult to see.

The weather conditions also had a large effect on their job. That night the sea was very calm which made it even more difficult to notice icebergs, as they could not see the water breaking at the foot of them. There was no moon in the sky either, restricting their view further.

.. Lifeboats

Due to the design of the boat, the lifeboats were placed too high up the boat and in some instances boats were dropped into the water rather than lowered. The ropes were too short to get them into the water. This made the task of lowering the passengers into the water longer and more dangerous.

However the Titanic did not carry enough lifeboats to get everyone off the ship. The only British regulation at the time was that any ship over10, 000 tonnes had to have at least 16 life boats so the Titanic was well under regulations with 0 lifeboats with16 normal wooden lifeboats 4 special collapsible. The lifeboats held in total 1178 people and the total number of passengers was 4. Thomas Andrews wanted more but the owner of the Titanic, Mr J. Bruce Ismay did not want “so many little boats …cluttering up his decks and putting fear into his passengers.”

The crew responsible for the filling and lowering of the lifeboats had not been properly trained and the lifeboat drill usually held on a Sunday after the Sunday services for passengers and crew was cancelled by Captain Smith. Due to the crew’s lack of training they did not know the capacity of each boat and all but one was under laden.

Many of the passengers were unaware of the collision, which made the task of getting everybody into the lifeboats very difficult. The rule of the sea, women and children first was not closely adhered to at first, as there were not many people queuing to get into the lifeboats. This was because the damage could not be seen from the passenger accommodation and the collision was not felt by many. The Titanic did not have a public address system and instructions from crew to passengers were not accurate and were conducted against the noise of steam blowing off from the boilers as the engines were stopped.

.. Rescue Attempts

While the ship was sinking the wireless operators continually sent out SOS signals stating their position and requesting help immediately. The nearest ship responding was the Carpathia and went ahead full speed to assist. The Carpathia was over 4 hours away and the ship’s designer Thomas Andrews who was aboard for her maiden voyage estimated that the ship would sink in less than hours due to the fact that 6 of her compartments had been flooded.

Passengers aboard the ship claimed that other ships were sighted while the ship was sinking, however they did not come to help but sailed away from them. The Titanic sent distress rockets into the sky to alert the attention of any other ships nearby. “One ship was the Californian that was between 5 and 10 miles away and must have seen the distress rockets but failed to act. The radio operator was asleep at the time and therefore did not receive the SOS and CQD (come quick danger) messages. Had she done so she might have been able to save some if not all of the lives that were lost.” (Howells, Richard 1) The Myth of the Titanic, St Martins Press Ltd

. Outcomes

.1 Who is to blame?

The Titanic disaster was mainly due to the excessive speed it was travelling at and a proper watch was not kept. The design of the ship is also at fault as the watertight compartments were not exactly ‘watertight’ and also the lifeboats should have been at a better height. The captain was not necessarily negligent as he did not do anything, which was out of the ordinary. It was not unusual to not change course or reduce speed after receiving warnings.

.. Lessons learnt

The regulations for ships changed following this disaster and the provision of lifeboats to accommodate every person on the ship was made a legal requirement. The British commission also called for more watertight compartments on ships and better regulation of lookouts. It was also recommended that regular boat, fire and watertight drills be held on the ships. It was also regulated that “all foregoing passenger and emigrant ships should be required to carry wireless telegraphy equipment and this should provide a 4-hour continuous service.” (Howells, Richard 1) The Myth of the Titanic, St Martins Press Ltd

4. Conclusion

The RMS Titanic struck an iceberg on Sunday 14 April at 11.40 pm. The collision was not head-on but it cut a gash in the starboard side causing 5 of the watertight compartments to flood. This caused the ship to sink by the bow and by .0 am the ship was lost. There were many risks involved in the disaster including poor design, ignoring warning signs and not enough lifeboats. The crew who were in charge of loading and lowering the lifeboats were not trained properly and no one was aware of the procedures they had to follow. They did not know the capacity of the lifeboats and this resulted in many of them being less than half full thus causing the loss of many more lives. The wireless system was a new invention at the time and not many ships had them and they were not regulated. If the operator of the Californian had been on duty at the time the ship would have been able to save some, if not all the passengers on the Titanic.

Following this disaster, there were regulations made on lifeboats, watertight compartments and lookouts. The Titanic disaster highlighted the problems with ships and in a way if it had not happened then another disaster would have happened not long after.



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