Tag: Titanic

A tribute to the engineering staff Sea travel is one of the safest forms of travel both for people and cargo; however recent events off the coast of Italy remind us only too well that the unexpected can happen. Ironically the Costa Concordia incident happened just three months short of the anniversary on 15 April of the centenary of the sinking of one of the most famous ships of all - RMS Titanic.To mark the centenary, a new a 16-page fully illustrated commemorative booklet has been published as a tribute to the engineering staff, all of whom lost their lives on that fateful night working in the depths of the ship to supply power for lighting during the evacuation and to enable radio distress signals to be sent until just three minutes before Titanic finally sank beneath the waves.The legacy of the sinking of Titanic comes in many different forms according to the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) - this booklet published by the Guild of Benevolence, the only charity in the world with a direct connection to the Titanic is just one of those legacies, and it spells out the others along with illustrations of the ...

From the RMS Titanic to the Costa Concordia accident Luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia capsized off the coast of Italy, killing at least five people and leaving more than a dozen missing. Tragic though it is, most of the passengers were saved, and it is hardly one of the worst sea disasters. From the RMS Titanic to the MV Doña Paz, see some of the deadliest shipwrecks in maritime history.Costa ConcordiaWith more than 4,000 people aboard, the Costa Concordia ran aground off the coast of Italy on Jan. 13, 2012, then began taking on water and capsized. The ship had departed Civitavecchia, near Rome, just a few hours before.A lifeboat drill had not yet been held for the newly arrived passengers. Five people have been confirmed dead and others are missing, but the majority of the 4,234 people on board at the time of the accident have been accounted for. While the ship had enough lifeboats for everyone, the severe list made launching them difficult and some passengers had to be evacuated by helicopter. One passenger described the chaotic scene, saying, "We were having supper when the lights suddenly went out, we heard a boom and a groaning noise, and ...

IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu expresses his condolences IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu has expressed his condolences and sympathy for all those caught up in tragic accidents involving ships over the weekend.Speaking at the opening of the IMO Sub-Committee on Stability, Load Lines and Fishing Vessel Safety today (16 January 2011) Mr Sekimizu said, "I wish to express my sincere condolences and sympathy on behalf of IMO to the families of those who have lost their lives the cruise ship Costa Concordia.""Further, I appreciate the Italian Coast Guard for their rescue operations over the night of the accident and the continued efforts deploying patrol boats, tugs, helicopters as well as diver teams, which have resulted in the highest number of people rescued in the history of the Italian Coast Guard.""Causes of this accident are still not yet established. We must wait for the casualty investigation and should not pre-judge or speculate at this stage. I would like to urge the Flag State administration to carry out the casualty investigation covering all aspects of this accident and provide the findings to the IMO under the provisions of SOLAS as soon as possible," he said.He added "IMO must not take this accident lightly. We ...

World Maritime Day 2012 The IMO Council, at its 106th session in June 2011,endorsed a proposal by IMO Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos to adopt "IMO: One hundred years after the Titanic" as the World Maritime Day theme for 2012, in order to focus onthe Organization's roots and raison d'être, i.e. safety of life at sea.One of the consequences of the sinking, in 1912, of the Titanic, in which 1,503 people lost their lives, was the adoption, two years later, of the first International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (the SOLAS Convention).The 1914 version of the Convention was gradually superseded, respectively, by SOLAS 1929, SOLAS 1948, SOLAS 1960 (the first adopted under the auspices of IMO, then known as IMCO) and SOLAS 1974. SOLAS 1974 is still in force today, amended and updated many times.The themeprovides an opportunity to:-take stock of improvements in maritime safety during the 100 years since the sinking of the Titanic;-pay tribute to the memory of those, who lost their lives in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic on that fatal night of 14 April 1912;-highlight that the sacrifice of so many of the Titanic (passengers and crew) has not gone in vain;-examine whether ...

The word titanic will be pressed into use more than usual in the next few months With the centenary this year of what is usually but erroneously* described as the worst maritime disaster, the word "titanic" will be pressed into use more than usual in the next few months.Having inspired umpteen films and even more books and a news story virtually every day, the doomed passenger ship that sank on 15 April 1912 continues to fascinate the popular imagination like no other vessel and provides a seemingly inexhaustible supply of stories, metaphors and ideas: deckchairs are futilely re-arranged, the ship's band plays on as waves lap at the musicians' feet and tips of icebergs are unwisely ignored. In Titanic mythology women and children go first and captains go down with their ships. In icy waters there are both heroes and villains, while fate is tempted by the epithet "unsinkable".The disaster has been seen as a defining moment marking the moment when one era ended and another began as the Edwardian period drew to a close and the first shots in the Great War, as it was originally known, would be fired two years later. Golden, hazy peace gave way to ...

World Maritime Day 2012 ; The IMO has declared the theme of World Maritime Day 2012 as "One hundred years after Titanic". Many of you know the Amver system was established as a result of Titanic.The need to identify ships in the North Atlantic near a distress location was realized, but wasn't established until the advent of the computer age- 1958.Now the Amver system tracks over 5,000 ships per day globally, diverting them to distress locations around the world and saving an average of one life every 33 hours.Let's not forget those people lost on that fateful night almost 100 years ago.Source: AMVER

They will set off on 8 April 2012 to retrace RMS Titanic's route Relatives of passengers and crew on Titanic are planning to mark the 100th anniversary of the disaster by sailing to the spot where the liner sank.They will set off on 8 April next year from Southampton to retrace RMS Titanic's route across the Atlantic.A special memorial ceremony will be held on board the cruise ship Balmoral at the time the ship went down.Titanic hit an iceberg at 23:40 on 14 April and sank two hours and 40 minutes later, with the loss of 1,517 lives.The wreck still rests on the seabed where it sank, 375 miles south east of Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada.Jane Allen, from Devon, said: "We wish to commemorate our relative, Thomas Pears, who died on the Titanic."His story has been a big part of our lives. His widow Edith survived in Lifeboat 8."Helped in evacuationPhilip Littlejohn, grandson of Titanic survivor Alexander James Littlejohn and the only Titanic relative to have made the dive to the wreck site, will also make the trip.He said: "I'm sure my grandfather, a First Class steward on Titanic, would be proud to know his story will be shared."It ...

Debt of shipping to the best-known wreck It is a terrible thing for the shipping industry to admit that the world's best-known ship - the one that members of the public will always cite when asked to name "a merchant ship" is the Titanic.It seems an awful condemnation upon one of the world's most essential industries that of all the hugely successful, commercially brilliant and technically astounding ships that have emerged from shipyards over the past 100 years, everyone remembers the one that lasted a matter of weeks after its delivery, sinking with heavy loss of life on its maiden voyage.The centenary of this notorious casualty is almost upon us and the Titanic industry, which will see every form of media event, the commissioning of at least two major exhibitions in Belfast and Southampton , and dozens of literary efforts making more money than the doomed ship ever did. And perhaps the modern marine transport industry should not grudge this wellspring of nostalgia, in that it might make more people think, perhaps even in an over-sentimental fashion, about ships and shipping.Perhaps the International Maritime Organization got it right when its recent Council meeting endorsed the suggestion of the Secretary-General Efthimios ...

Tribute to the memory of those who lost their lives on that fatal night The IMO Council has endorsed a proposal by IMO Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos to adopt IMO: One hundred years after the Titanic as the World Maritime Day theme for 2012.The time has come for us to return to this Organizations roots and raison dêtre, i.e. safety of life at sea, Mr. Mitropoulos said.One of the consequences of the sinking, in 1912, of the Titanic, in which 1,503 people lost their lives, was the adoption, two years later, of the first International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (the SOLAS Convention).The 1914 version of the Convention was gradually superseded, respectively, by SOLAS 1929, SOLAS 1948, SOLAS 1960 (the first adopted under the auspices of IMO, then known as IMCO) and SOLAS 1974. SOLAS 1974 is still in force today, amended and updated many times.Mr. Mitropoulos said the selection of the theme proposed would provide an opportunity to:-take stock of improvements in maritime safety during the 100 years since the sinking of the Titanic;-pay tribute to the memory of those, who lost their lives in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic on that fatal night of ...