Tag Archives: Titanic Belfast

Titanic

Titanic News:Conspiracy Theories, How Titanic Made Ships Safer, and more!

“Inside the Wildest Titanic Conspiracy Theories.” All That’s Interesting, 15 Dec. 2023, allthatsinteresting.com/titanic-conspiracy-theories.

The largest passenger liner of its time, the Titanic was once thought to be “unsinkable.” But just under three hours after the ship struck the iceberg, the ship had completely sunk, taking about 1,500 people down with it. Afterward, conspiracies about why and how the Titanic sank abounded, ranging from the simple and plausible to the extreme and outlandish.

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“Thornton Heath Man One of Last Survivors of ‘Indian Titanic.’” Your Local Guardian, 11 Dec. 2023, www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/23965602.thornton-heath-man-one-last-survivors-indian-titanic.

But almost no-one knows about a similar tragedy, now known as the ‘Indian Titanic’, which claimed the lives of 280 people making the journey from Mumbai to East Africa. On November 23, 1942, a ship named the SS Tilawa, carrying nearly 1,000 people and thousands of tonnes of cargo, was sunk by a Japanese Navy submarine in the Indian Ocean. One of only two known survivors of the tragedy still alive today is Arvind Bhai Jani, who was just three years old when he boarded the ship with his mother Vasantben and now lives in Thornton Heath.

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“5 Ways the Titanic Improved Disaster Prevention and Recovery.” Interesting Engineering, 10 Dec. 2023, interestingengineering.com/lists/titanic-disaster-prevention-and-recovery.

Although disaster prevention and recovery, as we know it today, did not exist in the early 20th century, the lessons learned from the Titanic tragedy contributed to the development of safety measures, regulations, and emergency response protocols in the maritime and shipping industry that are still saving lives today.

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“Four Things You May Not Have Known About Titanic Belfast.” Belfast Live, 9 Dec. 2023, www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/titanic-belfast-things-you-not-28240028.

Titanic Belfast has been widely acknowledged as Northern Ireland’s top tourist attractions and one of the most popular visitor sites in Europe, but there are certain facts about the building you may not have noticed. Most of us know that the stunning building’s angular shape recalls the shape of the famous ship’s prows, with its main “prow” angled down the middle of the Titanic and Olympic slipways towards the River Lagan. Another well-known fact is the building stands at 126 feet, the same height as Titanic’s hull. But there are a few more interesting facts about the building you may not know, or may not have spotted on trips to the attraction.

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Titanic

Titanic News-Laughter on Titanic, The Man who Had the Key to Titanic Binoculars, Titanic Tour

Titanic Exhibition: The Londoner And The Captain Who Were Seized By Fits Of Giggles After The Ship Hit An Iceberg (MyLondon. 13 Nov 2021)

We’re so used to hearing tales of doom and tragedy about the sinking of the Titanic that’s it’s surprising to find a funny story about it. As a major exhibition prepares to open in London next year at an as-yet-undisclosed location to mark the 110th anniversary of the 1912 tragedy, MyLondon is investigating the lives of the Londoners who were aboard the ill-fated ship. In the process, MyLondon came across the rather incredible yet touching story of the 22-year-old signalman who was cracking up in fits of laughter while sending SOS signals from the freezing ship.

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Seaman Blamed for Sinking Titanic Was A TRUE Hero: Bravery Medals Of Officer Who Unwittingly Pocketed Key For Binoculars Cabinet Before Disembarking Doomed Ship Are Set To Fetch £15,000 At Auction (Daily Mail, 12 Nov 2021)

He’s infamous as the sailor who was blamed by some for the sinking of the Titanic, but the collection of medals which belonged to David Blair reveal his true heroism. In his haste to disembark, however, he forgot to leave a key which was needed in the crow’s nest to access binoculars and a telescope. As such, Blair is known to history for his unwitting part in the sinking – but the officer had in fact won a series of prestigious medals for his bravery and military service. Roughly a year after the Titanic sank, Aldridge was serving as first officer on the SS Majestic – another White Star ocean liner – when he swam to the rescue of a drowning man who had thrown himself overboard. For his bravery, King George V awarded Blair a Sea Gallantry Medal at Buckingham Palace. He earned further medals during the First World War, when he served with distinction in the navy.

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Travel: Titanic Tour Offers a Tale Of Two Irish Ports Linked By Tragic Ship (The Sunday Post, 12 Nov 2021)

The Titanic Centre in Belfast is one of the island’s most popular attractions. Located next to the Titanic slipways and the former shipyard Drawing Offices, the centre is at the heart of where the Titanic was planned, designed, built and launched. It took Belfast a long time to come to terms with the Titanic’s fate. The Titanic Centre was opened to mark the centenary of the sinking. The long gestation was due to a mixture of shame and embarrassment surrounding the ship’s tragic end. For a long time, the city’s tour guides quipped “she was all right when she left here” but ultimately it was realised that other cities around the world such as Halifax, Nova Scotia and Orlando, Florida were telling a story, through exhibitions, that could really only be told properly in Belfast.


Miscellaneous, Titanic, Titanic Miscellaneous

Titanic Exhibition Coming to Falmouth in 2018; Old Titanic Game Gets New Lease on Life

As we wind down 2017, here are some news items of interest to Titanic enthusiasts.

National Maritime Museum Cornwall, UK
Photo: Public Domain (Wikipedia)

1. National Maritime Museum Cornwall Will Bring Major Titanic Exhibition To Falmouth In 2018 (Cornwall Live, 29 Dec 2017)
The National Maritime Museum in Falmouth has confirmed that the ‘TITANIC STORIES’ exhibition will be on display from March 8 next year until January 7, 2019.The exhibition which will examine the stories of the Titanic’s sinking on April 15, 1912, and reappraise the several assumptions, controversies and myths that still linger around one of the most renowned historic events of the 20th century. As well as retelling personal stories of survivors, it will present rare and never-seen-before objects and items -thanks to collaboration with private collectors from major UK museums and private collectors from overseas.
Information about hours of operation and admission fees can be found at https://nmmc.co.uk/.

2. Some of you might remember all old Titanic action adventure called Titanic: Adventure Out of Time. It was actually a decent computer game with good Titanic graphics and an intriguing story. But that was a long time ago (1996). But now it has been resurrected at Gog.com. The reviews so far are mostly positive. Right now it is only available on Windows. No word if a MAC version is coming.
Source: 1996 Point-And-Click Game Titanic: Adventure Out Of Time Sails Onto GOG (PC Gamer, 29 Dec 2017

3. Titanic Belfast is holding a New Years Celebration reports Belfast Live. They report that for £40 per person you get a cocktail upon arrival, a light supper, a midnight piper to herald in 2018 and of course a DJ to control the music being played.

4. And finally if you have $100,000 to spend, then come May 2018 you can take a diving tour of Titanic reports Wate.com. According to the news report: “London-based travel company Blue Marble Private will begin taking people down to the wreck in May 2018. Nine people at a time will leave from the coast of Newfoundland and take a 10-day trip, which includes a deep ocean dive to Titanic. The cost of the voyage matches the name of the ship — the per-person cost weighs in at a hefty $105,129, the company told CNN. Blue Marble Private says the cost is the equivalent of a first-class passage on the ship’s inaugural voyage after an inflation adjustment. The trip includes three potential days of diving, with each dive lasting three hours. During the three hour tour, clients will explore the deck, bow, ridge and cavern where the grand staircase once stood.” Perhaps Clive Palmer, who famously said he was going to build a Titanic II and never did, will buy a ticket to see the real thing.


Titanic

Recent Titanic News

There has not been a lot of news concerning Titanic or Premier Exhibitions. Here are some though that might interest those who follow those topics.

1. Titanic Hotel Entertains The Lonely On Christmas Day
Hundreds of people who faced spending Christmas Day alone were treated to a festive lunch at a luxury Liverpool hotel. Over 300 people were entertained by a team of around 80 volunteers at Stanley dock yesterday for the Titanic hotel’s annual White Christmas event.
Source:Titanic hotel entertains the lonely on Christmas day 26 Dec 2016, Liverpool Echo

The Grand Staircase of the RMS Olympic
Photo:Public Domain (Wikipedia)

2. At this New Year’s Eve Celebration, You Can Walk the Titanic’s Grand Staircase Like Jack and Rose
And as New Year means new life, celebrate that precious gift at the Titanic Belfast in Northern Ireland by doing the re-creation of the popular grand staircase scene in the 1997 movie. A replica of the staircase will be made available for guests. Features that will happen during the night include a New Year’s Cocktail, Light Supper, Live Band, Midnight Piper, and DJ Entertainment. Visitors will get to wear in tux and cocktail dresses. An entrance fee of $50 will be charged.
Source:At this New Year’s Eve Celebration, You Can Walk the Titanic’s Grand Staircase Like Jack and Rose Travelers Today, 24 Dec 2017

3.For this deep-sea archaeologist, finding the Titanic at the bottom of the sea was just the start
It works like this: A researcher picks a project that lies along the route of E/V Nautilus, the 50-crew ­research ship Ballard commands. Ballard’s crew then sends a remote operated vehicle (ROV) to the research site. The ROV feeds video and data to the surface, which the crew beams to the Inner Space Center at the University of Rhode Island, which ­Ballard founded in 2009. Workers there post it to YouTube for public and scientific viewing. Among the images Ballard has ­given the world: mud-spitting volcanoes, barnacled World War II patrol boats, Byzantine amphorae (old clay jugs), and fuzz-covered iron-chewing microbes.
Source:For this deep-sea archaeologist, finding the Titanic at the bottom of the sea was just the start 23 Dec 2016, Popular Science

4. Fans of Bewitched will remember Bernard Fox as Dr Bombay while “A Night To Remember” fans will recall he was the lookout who spotted the iceberg. I recall him as the daffy Colonel Crittendon who was the bane of Colonel Hogan. Every time he showed up his naivete and incompetence would put Hogan’s plans in jeopardy. Most people remembered his face but not always his name. A shame since he was a very talented actor. He passed away recently in Van Nuys, California. He was 89. RIP
Source:Bernard Fox, Actor on Classic ’60s Sitcoms, Dies at 89 15 Dec 2016, New York Times

5. Now that Clive Palmer’s Titanic replica has effectively been shelled, the major media outlets now are reporting what readers of this blog already knew. There is a full size replica of Titanic being built in China. It will be permanently docked at theme park and will include a much criticized Titanic Sinking Simulator. You can read one such article at the New York Times.

Titanic Belfast (side view)
Image:Prioryman (Wikipedia)

6. It was not so long away when Belfast was devoid of any large scale Titanic exhibition or museum. That changed in 2012 when Titanic Belfast opened. And now it won the prestigious World Travel Award beating out serious competition making it the first Irish attraction to do this.
Source:Titanic Belfast named world’s best tourist attraction at Tourism Oscars 2 Dec 2016, Daily Mail

Premier Exhibitions Update
Premier Exhibitions Extension Sought
Premier Exhibitions filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court a motion proposing that the period during which the Debtors have the exclusive right to file a Chapter 11 plan be further extended through and including April 10, 2017, and, if a plan is filed on or prior to April 10, 2017, the exclusive period to gain acceptance of a filed plan be extended through and including June 10, 2017.
Source:Premier Exhibitions Extension Sought 19 Dec 206, Bankrupt Company News


Titanic, Titanic Miscellaneous

Titanic Wreck Gone In 14 Years Experts Say

Titanic Wreck Bow Image: Public Domain (NOAA-http://www.gc.noaa.gov/images/gcil/ATT00561.jpg)
Titanic Wreck Bow
Image: Public Domain (NOAA-http://www.gc.noaa.gov/images/gcil/ATT00561.jpg)

Titanic not only sank but now the wreck itself will be mostly gone in 14 years according to a scientific study. The study done by experts from Institut Laue-Langevin, the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry and the Institut de Biologie Structurale has determined “extremophile bacteria” will eat away the ship by 2030.
Source:Titanic wreck ‘will dissolve in 14 years’(Belfast Telegraph,9 Sep 16)

Southampton has a very strong connection to Titanic. Yet as a writer for Daily Echo points out, the city elders did not capitalize their connection as strongly as Belfast did. Titanic Belfast is a major tourist attraction for Belfast yet Southampton’s Sea City Museum only draws modest numbers. Sea City overlooks the area where Titanic docked but since the area is still a major working port, expansion is not as easy as Belfast had. Others agree more should be done to promote Southampton.
Source:Has Southampton missed the boat with Titanic museum? (Daily Echo,11 Sept 2016)

Titanic, Titanic Exhibitions

Chinese Titanic Replica On Course;Belfast Titanic Celebrates A Milestone

The Grand Staircase of the RMS Olympic Photo:Public Domain (Wikipedia)
The Grand Staircase of the RMS Olympic
Photo:Public Domain (Wikipedia)

Clive Palmer’s plan to build Titanic II appears dead but a Chinese full size replica is on course to be built. According to China.org.cn a full size replica will be assembled at the end of this year. The replica will be the exact size of the original Titanic and will cost 1 billion yuan. Everything from door knobs to menus will look as if it was on the original Titanic (except some modern necessities as needed of course). The replica will also employ the use of a Titanic Sinking Simulator so that visitors will experience what it was like to be aboard when the ship was sinking. The replica will be permanently docked at a theme park in the Qi River in Daying County, Sichuan. It is scheduled to open in 2018.
Source:Life-Size Replica Of Titanic To Be Assembled Late This Year(China.org.cn,17 Aug 2016)

Titanic Belfast just celebrated its three millionth visitor recently. Since it opened in 2012, Titanic Belfast has seen a steady stream of tourists from all over the world. They recently had their busiest day when 4,200 people came through the doors beating down previous numbers. Titanic Belfast chief executive Tim Husbands notes “We have spent over £1m refurbishing and refreshing three or four of the galleries because obviously Titanic is a story that can be told in so many different facets.”
Source: Titanic Belfast Welcomes Its Three Millionth Visitor(Irish Times,15 Aug 2016)


History, Titanic Miscellaneous

Titanic Belfast:Visitors Will See American Exhibition About Race To South Pole

Roald Amundsen and his crew looking at the Norwegian flag at the South Pole, 1911 Public Domain(Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation)
Roald Amundsen and his crew looking at the Norwegian flag at the South Pole, 1911
Public Domain(Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation)

What did Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott face in their race to the South Pole? Amundsen and Scott were at the forefront of Antarctic explorations along with others such as Ernest Shackleton and Francis Crozier. The journey to be the first to make it to the South Pole was fraught with all kinds of peril explorers had to endure. And an exhibition from the New York American Museum of Natural History has opened at Titanic Belfast to educate people about this race.

Using multimedia and hands-on exhibits, visitors will get an understanding and appreciation for what these explorers did. This is the first time this exhibition has been to Belfast and the U.K. The exhibition is in Andrew’s Gallery and will be there till 28 Aug.

Source:American exhibition comes to Titanic Belfast(The Irish News,5 Jul 2016)

Titanic

Titanic Notes

Wallace Hartley's Violin*Wallace Hartley’s violin will be on display at Titanic Pigeon Forge until mid-August.

*Lion Heart Autographs will be putting up for auction a custom card filled out by a Titanic survivor aboard Carpathia. The custom card was filled out by first class passenger Caroline Bonnell. The card is estimated auction price is $8,000-$10,000. They are also auctioning off ten telegrams related to the sinking of the Titanic including two from evangelist “Billy” Sunday. The estimated auction price for the telegrams is $3,000-$5,000. The auction is being conducted online through 15 June 2016.

*Believe it or not but there is something called Tourism Oscars reports Belfast Telegraph. And for the first time since these awards have around for 23 years, an Irish attraction called Belfast Titanic could possibly win the award.

Megan Ross, age 10, with her winning design for Nomadic's 105th anniversary cake. Photo: Belfast Live
Megan Ross, age 10, with her winning design for Nomadic’s 105th anniversary cake.
Photo: Belfast Live

*Megan Ross, age 10, won a contest to design the 105th anniversary cake for SS Nomadic Belfast Live reports.  Way to go Megan! She also won the opportunity for her class to visit the last remaining ship of the White Star Line.

*A celebrity recently, desiring for more attention or something, decided to be like Kate Winslet in James Cameron’s Titanic in baring her top in a selfie. Sorry but I do not see the guys racing to see this one.

*People visiting Titanic Belfast of late have been experiencing a very warm experience. Which apparently is bringing out a lot of people since it does not usually get near 70F/21C. Temperatures have soared up to 23C/74F.  Usually travelers are advised to bring a sweater, a jacket for rain or cool nights and an umbrella. You can skip the sweater but keep a jacket and umbrella handy. Weather Underground reports that rain is expected in the next few days. A perfect opportunity to slip inside a small place for some good company and food as well.

Titanic, Titanic Miscellaneous

Belfast Titanic Had Drop In Profits In 2015 Despite Rising Revenues

Titanic Belfast (side view) Image:Prioryman (Wikipedia)
Titanic Belfast (side view)
Image:Prioryman (Wikipedia)

It is usually the case that when you have an increase in revenues and people attending your tourist attraction, you make money. Not so for Titanic Belfast in 2015 reports Belfast Telegraph. The Telegraph reports this is despite the fact that revenues went up by 7% during that year and that it attracted 625,000 visitors. So what caused the drop in revenue? The newspaper reports:

The drop in profit arose chiefly from the firm’s administrative expenses increasing from £6.27m to £7.42m. And the average number of staff employed last year increased from 134 to 153 with staff costs increasing from £2.17m to £2.45m.

So hiring nineteen people cut into expenses pretty seriously. That tells a lot about the cost of labor these days in NI. And probably why visiting the attraction will soon cost more.

Source: Titanic Belfast sees profits drop by a third to £800,000 (Belfast Telegraph, 24 Mar 2016)