The White Star Line’s Titanic, the largest ship the world had ever seen, sailed from Southampton to New York, on April 10, 1912 (Dupuis). The Titanic was built by Messrs. Harland and Wolff, at Belfast. It was a steel ocean liner at record breaking dimensions, registered at Liverpool, its weight came in at 46,328 tons, its length overall being 882 feet, with a breadth of 92 feet and a depth of 65 feet (Dupuis). The distance from the keel to the top of the funnels was 175 feet, the bottom extending the full length of the ship, and was divided into 16 water-tight compartments, with access to each compartment through water-tight doors (Dupuis). The rudder by itself weighed an immense 100 tons (Dupuis). It was driven by three enormous screws, the center one weighing 22 tons, the other two 38 tons each, and was capable of making 23 knots (Dupuis). Titanic was thought unsinkable, but it wasn’t. Now we ponder what the sinking of such a well-known ocean …show more content…
The limited liability law at the time, however, really restricted their claims. The Titanic's liability was protected by an 1851 law ("An Act to limit the Liability of Ship-Owners, and for other Purposes," 9 Stat. 635) (Gavin). “Under this law, in cases of unavoidable accidents, the company was not liable for any loss of life, property, or injury” (Gavin). The 706 survivors and the families of the 1,517 passengers that didn’t make it were entitled to only a total of $91,805: $85,212 for passengers, $2,073 for cargo, and a $4,520 assessment for the only materials salvaged from the Titanic the (Which was only a small number of lifeboats) (Gavin). In October 1912, the White Star Line filed a petition to limit its liability against any claims for loss of life, property, or injury. In this petition, the White Star Line claimed that the collision was due to an "inevitable accident."