Tag Archives: cruise ships

Weekend Titanic News

Image: OceanGate

It looks like the strange knocking sounds heard by rescuers, which some believe was done by those on the Titan, was something else. They are not sure what caused the sounds, but they did happen.

Reyes, Ronny. “Eerie ‘knocking’ Sounds From Titan Sub That Gave Rescuers Hope Heard in New Audio.” New York Post, 28 Feb. 2024, nypost.com/2024/02/28/world-news/eerie-knocking-sounds-from-titan-sub-heard-in-new-audio.

The mysterious knocking sounds heard beneath the Atlantic Ocean that gave false hope that the Titan submersible and its occupants could be rescued has been revealed in a haunting new audio clip. After the underwater craft lost contact with its mothership on a journey to the Titanic wreck last summer, reports on the second day of the frantic search said that banging noises were reverberating in the depths at 30-minute intervals. An upcoming British documentary from Channel 5, “The Titan Sub Disaster: Minute by Minute,” played the audio for the public for the first time, which sounds like a person “knocking” against metal.

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Collapsible lifeboat D photographed by passenger on Carpathia on the morning of 15 April 1912.
Public Domain(Wikipedia)

The full story of Nellie Becker and later how she and the kids got off Titanic is quite fascinating indeed.

Jessica Gray, Bureau County History Center. “How a Mom, 3 Kids Escaped Doomed Titanic.” Shaw Local, 28 Feb. 2024, www.shawlocal.com/illinois-valley/2024/02/28/how-a-mom-3-kids-escaped-doomed-titanic.

Nellie recalled four sailors carried her into the dining saloon where she saw her two youngest children being tended to by the doctor. Both Ruth and her mother would state one of their most vivid memories was the sight of scores of women standing at the rail looking out to sea, searching in vain for their husbands, after the last survivors were brought onto the Carpathia.

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

RMS Titanic, Inc is planning another dive to Titanic this year. Not to bring anything up, but to scan the wreck and see what has happened to it.

Adigun, Olalekan. “Reviving the Titanic: A New Expedition Sets Sail to Uncover Its Underwater Mysteries.” BNN, 26 Feb. 2024, bnnbreaking.com/history/reviving-the-titanic-a-new-expedition-sets-sail-to-uncover-its-underwater-mysteries.

The forthcoming expedition by RMS Titanic, Inc., in collaboration with leading imaging companies and C-Innovation, represents a significant leap forward in underwater exploration. The deployment of cutting-edge imaging technology and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) will allow for high-resolution documentation of the Titanic wreck and its expansive debris field. This endeavor is not just about capturing images; it’s about conducting a detailed analysis to understand the current state of the wreck and identify artifacts for potential future recovery.

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This is one of those “while looking for one thing we found something else” kind of story. At least the shipwreck has been found.

Smith, Stephen. “Shipwreck Found Over a Century After Bodies of Crewmembers Washed Ashore: ‘120-year-old Mystery’ Solved.” CBS News, 26 Feb. 2024, www.cbsnews.com/news/shipwreck-ss-nemesis-1904-found-off-australia-120-year-old-mystery-solved.

In July 1904, the steamship SS Nemesis was transporting coal to Melbourne, Australia, when it ran into a powerful storm and vanished. All 32 people on board were considered lost, and in the weeks that followed, the bodies of crewmembers and debris from the iron-hulled ship washed ashore, but the location of the 240-foot vessel remained a mystery. Until now. The ship has finally been identified more than a century later. It was initially spotted when a company searching for sunken shipping containers came across the wreck by accident, the New South Wales Ministry of Environment and Heritage announced this weekend.

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You do have to wonder, when you see how staggeringly huge these new cruise ships are, at what point is it too big?

Allison, Jenny. “Side-by-side Photo of New and Old Cruise Ships Sparks Conversation About Future of Cruise Industry: ‘This Should Have Stopped When the Titanic Sank’” The Cool Down, 26 Feb. 2024, www.thecooldown.com/green-home/cruise-ships-photo-difference-dock-size.

 In the photo, both ships — identified by another post in the r/pics forum as Royal Caribbean’s 1997 Rhapsody of the Seas and the company’s considerably larger 2022-launched Wonder of the Seas (identifiable by the name on the stern) — are moored at the same dock, clearly highlighting the egregious difference in their sizes.“Just give it a few decades, at this rate they’ll end up having to install shuttles,” said one user wryly. Another put it bluntly: “This should have stopped when the Titanic sank.”

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And apparently some wild tales about Titanic are out there on social media having to be swatted down again.

 “Titanic Sinking Conspiracy Theory on Social Media Debunked by Experts.” Irish Star, 21 Feb. 2024, www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/titanic-sinking-conspiracy-theory-bandied-32179322.

A conspiracy theory on X that suggested that the Titanic sinking was an inside job has been debunked by experts. “Rumors are circulating that they sunk the Titanic to kill the powerful men on board who opposed a central bank,” the post from Matt Wallace read. A similar rumor was circulated on social media site Telegram in 2022. But according to Snopes, the fact-checking website, these claims are baseless. While the Telegram post was from 2022, the conspiracy theory had been doing the rounds for years before that date.

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Cruise Ship Passengers Find Water in Cabins and Think Titanic

CARNIVAL VISTA in Willemstad, Curaçao on March 29, 2017.
Gordon Leggett via Wikimedia Commons

Cruise ships offer a lot for the traveler these days. You have nicely appointed cabins, casinos, places to shop, lots of entertainment options, and of course lots of food. No one though expects they might experience something akin to the Titanic. A video making rounds on Tik Tok shows passengers standing in a hallway where water was reaching up to their ankles on the Carnival Vista. Of course they posted comments as well on what they were seeing.

“Woke to water rushing into our cabin…our lives flashed before our eyes.”

Two floors were flooded by a plumbing issue (probably a leaking pipe) when a ceiling collapsed from the water. According to news reports, the issue was apparently resolved quickly by the staff. While it is not mentioned, it is likely all those affected by the event were relocated to  other rooms (no word on any compensation for any personal items or damages). Most cruise ships (especially the larger big name ones like Carnival) have procedures for dealing with such emergencies. At least in this case, no lifeboats were needed!

Sources:

Carnival Cruise Ship Floods Like Scene Out Of ‘Titanic’
International Business Times, 8 Sep 2022
https://www.ibtimes.com/carnival-cruise-ship-floods-like-scene-out-titanic-3610930

Flooding on Cruise Captured in Dramatic Video Prompts Comparison to Titanic
Newsweek, 9 Sep 2022
https://www.newsweek.com/flooding-cruise-captured-dramatic-video-prompts-comparison-titanic-1741650


Ten Years Ago Costa Concordia Sank; Survivors Recall Their Experiences

Costa Concordia shipwreck (wire photo)

On 13 Jan 2012, the Costa Concordia was wrecked off an Italian island in shallow water resulting in 32 deaths and seriously injuring others. A trial later revealed the ship captain likely sailed close to the island to impress a girlfriend (it should be noted that Captain Schettino said sailing close was normal to salute mariners). Captain Schettino along with four crew members and a company official were found at fault for the disaster. The disaster, it was found, resulted from a series of human errors. Now ten years later, survivors are being interviewed about what they remembered that night.

10 years later, Costa Concordia survivors share their stories from doomed cruise ship  Yahoo! News, 12 Jan 2022

 

 

Pleasant Cruise Turns Into A Titanic Like Adventure

Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival Sunshine berthed at “Alto Fondale” wharf, Port of Livorno, Italy 2013
Photo: Piergiuliano Chesi (Wikipedia)

There is nothing like taking a nice cruise.  You board the ship, stow your things, and prepare for a nice cruise enjoying the sights and sounds. Except that is not what happened recently to passengers aboard the Carnival ship Sunshine. Hours after leaving Port Canaveral Florida, it experienced what the Carnival called a “technical issue.”

I didn’t think anything of it, since it’s not uncommon for ships to rock back and forth. But it didn’t rock back. It kept leaning,” said passenger David Crews, according to CBS Orlando. “Plates and silverware started sliding off the tables. Then the tables themselves started to slide. Glasses and plates started to fall and shatter. At this point, it was pure chaos. Screams. Cries. Panic.”

An electrical switchboard problem resulted in the ship tilting to one side (whether it was port or starboard is unclear right now). The result was panic. Like most people you take the occasional bumps and jolts when on the ocean as nothing. But when it did not right itself quickly and things began sliding and coming off the walls, people began to panic. And of course water started coming in making it appear the ship for the moment was in serious peril.

The situation thankfully did not last long and apparently was corrected quickly by the ship officers. The damage was done though as passengers took to social media to report what happened. Although the ship’s crew quickly got to work to clean up all the mess caused by the tilt, many just wanted to get off the ship at the next port of call (many did). The initial offer of a $50 credit by the captain was considered insufficient by many. Carnival likely had to offer other compensation to passengers who choose to leave early. And you cannot blame them. That is a pretty scary thing to go through. Thankfully though it was not at all like Titanic. However it is not a great way to start your vacation.

Sources:
1. Cruise Ship Chaos: ‘Technical Issue’ Causes Carnival Sunshine To List To One Side, Terrifying Passengers (CBS New York,1 Nov 2018)
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/11/01/cruise-ship-chaos-technical-issue-causes-carnival-sunshine-to-list-to-one-side-terrifying-passengers/

2. A scene from the Titanic: Carnival cruise ship terrifies passengers after leaning to one side (Deseret News,2 Nov 2018)
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900040078/a-scene-from-the-titanic-carnival-cruise-ship-terrifies-passengers-after-leaning-to-one-side.html


Blue Star Line: Titanic II in 2018

[Correction 21 July 2014-In my haste in writing this up I noted “it seems they let people continue to believe might be launched this year all the while covering themselves in this release.” Of course it will not be launched this year but what has been put off is the date the keel will be laid. It was supposed to be done early this year, then switched to Fall 2014. However no formal contract has been signed or reported as signed with the Chinese company that will build Titanic II. So that date is subject to change.]

Governments often try to avoid public notice of something that will cause a stir by burying it inside a large document or give a brief mention of it seemingly as a routine matter in some filing. Blue Star Line has tried this approach, according to the Australian newspaper Courier Mail, by briefly mentioning in the last paragraph of a release that was issued way back in May. The press release is from 9 May 2014 and its subject line is “BLUE STAR LINE SIGNS TITANIC II MOU WITH AVIC AND DELTAMARIN”

Nearly the entire release is about how this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will enhance Blue Star’s ability to get sponsors to help finance Titanic II. Sounds pretty boiler plate until you get to the very last line:

Titanic II is scheduled to be launched from its construction base in China in 2018, before her maiden passenger voyage retracing its original journey from Southampton to New York.

I have to admit being duped on this. I did not read the full release as close as I ought to have. I did a write up on the MOU but did not notice that little line at the end. And nor did anyone else but, if I recall correctly, Blue Star did not point people to it either. Instead it seems they let people continue to believe might be launched this year all the while covering themselves in this release.

Of course it might be moot if the dispute between Palmer and the Chinese government remains unresolved.

Sources:
1. Clive Palmer’s Blue Star Line Has Quietly Readjusted The Launch Date For Titanic II To 2018 (21 Jul 2014,Courier Mail)

2. Press Release:Blue Star Line Signs Titanic II MOU With AVIC And Deltamarin (9 May 2014, Blue Star Line)

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Tuesday Titanic-How Does Titanic Compare To Modern Cruise Ships?

Photo courtesy George Behe
Photo courtesy George Behe

Back in 1912 RMS Titanic was state of the art. The size of this class of ships was unlike any ship before. The luxury and comforts of this ship were beyond anything done before. That was 1912 so how does Titanic stack up to modern day cruise ships? Well you can take a look at James Sexton’s twitter post and see for yourself. Today’s cruise ships are substantially larger and hold more people. And they have a lot more than offered in 1912 in terms of amenities. Gizmondo also has a side view comparison of Oasis of the Seas and Titanic.

 

Source: The Titanic Was Ridiculously Tiny Compared To Modern Cruise Ships(11 Nov 2013,Gizmondo)


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