Harland & Wolff, the owner of the Belfast shipyard that built the Titanic, has insisted that it is still awaiting a government decision on a £200m intervention despite signs that Labour is due to reject the financial lifeline. Harland & Wolff (H&W) was forced to suspend its London-listed shares a fortnight ago, and it has missed two deadlines to file audited accounts, raising questions over its finances and its ability to fulfil a £1.6bn contract to build the three fleet solid support ships that will carry supplies such as ammunition and food to the navy’s aircraft carriers.
Over 1,500 people died at sea that night. Horrible deaths, too. Among them, believe it or not, was a South Jersey native. His name was Frederick Sutton. Sutton was born in England but came to the US in the late 1800s. He ultimately ended up settling in present-day Haddonfield in Camden County. According to Encyclopedia Titanica, Sutton did pretty well for himself in life, making his fortune in multiple business ventures from coffee importing to holding leadership positions in multiple banks. The venture that led him to the southeastern most points of NJ, however, was his interest in real estate. Real estate + the beach… makes sense, right? Reportedly, Frederick Sutton was one of the founding fathers of a little fishing town on one specific South Jersey beach. Today, we call it Wildwood.
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RMS Titanic pictured in Queenstown, Ireland 11 April 1912 Source:Cobh Heritage Centre, Cobh Ireland/Wikimedia Commons
The BBC is reporting that the upcoming dive by RMS Titanic Inc. will be gathering the most detailed photographic record of the wreck. They will be using state of the art technology and remotely operated vessels to go over every part of the ship they can.
NTSB drone image of Francis Scott Key Bridge and Cargo Ship Dali (26 Mar 2024) NTSB Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
When the freighter Dali struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, it sought protection from liability using an 1851 law called Shipowners’ Limitation of Liability Act of 1851. This act was famously used by the owners of Titanic to limit liability claims and became known as the Titanic Act since then. This act limits the liability by setting the value to just the value of the ship and its contents. It is from this pool that all liability payments will be drawn from. This forces all claims to go to this one court and limits the damages the company pays. The act was done to prevent American ship owners from having to pay out huge liability awards that could result in the company shuttering.
Now this limitation is quite striking when you consider air or rail disasters that result in significant legal damages often having to be paid either by court judgment or settlements. So for a ship owner, this can really keep you from being sued for astronomical sums of money. The downside, of course, is that for those who lost cargo or relatives, the money to be paid out will be quite small. Now the law does have some qualifications. If it can be proven the ship owner was negligent, then they cannot get coverage under this law. In the case of the Dali, they are using the act to limit the damages they will pay out. Not only did a bridge come down but several people died. So the City of Baltimore is challenging their claim arguing they were negligent and thus cannot be afforded protection under this act. The city is only going to get $300 million from Chubb, and the cost of building a new bridge will be a lot higher than that. A good review of the law and how it will be used in this particular case was done by two New York attorneys who wrote for their state bar association. It is worth a read to understand how this law works.
Titanic: The Artifact Exposition is coming to Boston on 17 October 2024. It will be at the Saunders Castle at Park Plaza. For information and details, go to https://titanicboston.us/ for information on dates, times, and how to purchase tickets.
Lord, Walter, A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, Holt Rinehart and Winston, New York, New York, 1955. Multiple revisions and reprints, notably Illustrated editions (1976,1977,1978 etc.)
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Titanic Wreck Bow Image: Public Domain (NOAA-http://www.gc.noaa.gov/images/gcil/ATT00561.jpg)
RMS Titanic Inc. is set to dive to Titanic later this month. Originally, they wanted to retrieve the Marconi wireless before further decay of the ship made it impossible. However, the U.S. government objected to the dive as it would be a violation of the Titanic Treaty now in place and thus the wreck a protected gravesite. RMS Titanic countered it had already sought and obtained permission from the court overseeing the salvage. The company has scaled back its plans and will no longer seek to remove anything from inside the hull. Also, they will not be using manned submersibles but remotely operated vehicles for the actual dive.
Lord, Walter, A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, Holt Rinehart and Winston, New York, New York, 1955. Multiple revisions and reprints, notably Illustrated editions (1976,1977,1978 etc.)
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Heinrich Himmler, 1942 German Federal Archives (via Wikimedia Commons)
On 7 July 1942, Heinrich Himmler orders that experimentation on women at the Auschwitz concentration camp begin and also to investigate extending this to males. How and why did this happen? Let’s find out.
Himmler, as head of the Schutzstaffel (SS), believed in exterminating all European Jews. As head of the SS and the assistant chief of the Gestapo, he controlled all the police forces in Germany. This allowed him the power to carry out Hitler’s Final Solution and why he was the one who called for a conference that would devise how these experiments would be conducted. The conference attendees included SS General Richard Glueks (hospital chief), SS Major-General Karl Gebhardt, and Professor Karl Clauberg (a leading German gynecologist) and members of the Concentration Camp Protectorate.
Gate to Auschwitz I with its Arbeit macht frei sign (“work sets you free”), 2010 Image credit: xiquinhosilva Flickr via Wikimedia Commons
The conference decided that medical experimentations would take place but also done in a way that the women would not know what was being done to them. The experiments would be to devise methods of sterilizing Jewish women using massive doses of radiation and uterine injections. It was also decided to examine if X rays could be used to castrate men and use it on male Jewish prisoners. Adolf Hitler agreed to this, but it was kept top secret as they were concerned many would object (it had happened before when they tried exterminating disabled and those in hospitals with severe mental conditions). This program would further the Nazi’s aims to rid the world of Jews outside of their extermination camps. They knew that in time they would get control of countries where setting up extermination camps would not be practical, so developing means to sterilize Jewish men and women (and others they didn’t like as well) would allow them to continue eliminating Jews but under the guise of using medicine to eliminate them.
Harland & Wolff David and Goliath crane in Belfast, 2006 Plastic Jesus (Dave) via Wikimedia Commons
Beleaguered Harland & Wolff asked that its shares listed in London be halted due to problems with government auditors. Auditors have so far refused to sign off its accounts and the deadline they agreed upon expired on Monday. Harland states it will publish them next week after discussing with its bookkeepers how best to report revenues from contracts. The issue has called into question a Royal Navy contract and is still awaiting approval for a loan guarantee of £200 million. The company warns if it is not approved by Thursday, then its ability to execute contracts will be peril. Currently the company has partnered with Spanish state-owned ship building giant Navantia to work on the Royal Navy contract.
The Volo Museum Titanic exhibit has reopened after being closed due to a flood. The exact cause of the flood has yet to be determined though it is likely that storms that hit the area around the time were responsible. However, since the museum is known for its alleged supernatural occurrences, naturally some speculate an otherworldly explanation. So far, no explanation has been offered and officials claim no broken pipes, roof leaks, or anything else that could have allowed so much water in. The flooding itself was captured on security footage and shows it spreading on the floor indicating it most certainly occurred. The question is how the flooding occurred. The water could have seeped up and out through as yet undiscovered holes in the floor or on the sides. Or it could be a case of simple fakery where someone created the flood in such a way as to make it look like no obvious explanation can be seen. Very skilled illusionists and those who work with special effects have all kinds of interesting ways to make things look real when they aren’t.
Cameron, J. (Director). (2012, September 12). Titanic(Digitally Remastered). Paramount.
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Titanic Exhibit Closed Screenshot of Volo Museum Website 27 June 2024 Mark Taylor, Titanic News Channel
The Volo Museum in Illinois, which has a Titanic exhibit, experienced a flood recently that shut down that exhibit. According to news reports, it happened last weekend and was captured on security footage. It was the first time the building has had a flood, but recent storms may have been the cause. The exhibit itself is quite popular displaying Titanic related items and displays a unique car: a 1912 Renault Type CB Coupé de Ville. Only two were made and one was aboard Titanic being brought to America by William Carter. James Cameron built a replica from the original plans to use in his movie.
At first, they thought simply cleaning up the wet floor was all that needed to be done. However, the moisture from the water was getting into all the brass on the cars in the room, so they need extra time to clean it up. The exhibit is scheduled to reopen this Saturday. As of yet, they have yet to locate exactly how the water entered the exhibit since none of the pipes burst. Since the museum has had alleged paranormal activity, some are speculating perhaps that was the cause. However, while the museum publicly has no explanation, a more ordinary explanation will likely be found (like small holes in the floor that allowed the water to come or similar).
John Joslyn had an interesting career before he became fascinated with Titanic and founding the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge. He started out in Hollywood putting out two-minute entertainment clips that television stations would buy and use in their newscasts. It became widely syndicated. Then he decided to produce opening Al Capone’s safe live on air. That was where they had Geraldo Rivera breathlessly reporting every minute of the event. Except it was empty except for the dust. Then he discovered Titanic, and it changed his life forever.
“They came up said ‘John, take a look at this.’ I got down in that port hole and all of a sudden comes the bow of the ship. I’m seeing the lower part and looking up, and you can’t see the top of the ship,” Joslyn said, describing how hard it was to see in the dim light. That was the moment that changed the trajectory of his career in a major way. Joslyn said seeing the ship itself sparked an interest he couldn’t shake. In the early 2000s, he set out on a business adventure, working with a new partner: his wife, Mary Kellogg. Their first location was in Branson, Missouri.
The Independent looked back recently at the demise of Titan and its reverberations in the world. Up until its demise, it was seen mostly in favorable light. Those who had gone down previously were impressed. What few knew was that behind the scenes there were those who thought Rush Stockton cut corners. Employees who questioned what they thought were questionable decisions were fired. Stockton himself was very confident of the submersible and likely would not have piloted it himself if he thought otherwise. In the wake of the tragedy, OceanGate has for the most part shut down. But hope of deep diving tourism remain though many may not want to sign up for it now.
Lynnewood Hall in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania was built to be like an American Versailles in 1897 by Peter AB Widener. He made a fortune in the butcher and transportation industries. The 34-acre estate was built for his two sons and their families. Alas his son George and his grandson Harry both died on Titanic though Eleanor, George’s wife, survived. It was a devastating loss for the family and Peter would die in 1915. His son Joseph inherited the estate and his family lived there until 1934. After that it went through several different owners until it was acquired by the First Korean Church of New York. They put it up for sale in 2014.
Then people started entering the property calling themselves “Urban Explorers” and filming what they found. What they found could no longer be akin to the famous Versailles but one could still how grand it once was. Pictures show mostly empty rooms that still display some of its prior majesty. Other areas, like the pool area and staircases, show neglect and ruin. Since it was used as a seminary, some areas were used for studying and eating. A former ballroom was turned into a chapel and looked well preserved when photographed in 2019.
The church itself ran into legal issues. The local board would not grant a waiver allowing him to operate a church in a residential neighborhood which resulted in a lawsuit that this violated the constitution. The church would end up losing its tax-exempt status later and the property was put up for sale. It sat empty and buyers were turned away until finally he agreed to sell it to the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation for $9 million. Now the foundation is working to remodel, restore, and then likely rent it out for charity and education uses down the road. This once grand building will likely be open for public tours as well to generate revenue. So, in the end the building built by a millionaire for his family, some lost when Titanic sank, will have a new lease on life.
Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation. (2023, July 1). OUR PLAN | Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation, Inc. Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation, Inc. https://lynnewoodhallpreservation.org/our-plan/
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It has been over a year since the Titan submersible tragically sank in the North Atlantic. However, the expected report on the particulars as to how it happened is not completed according to the Associated Press. Jason Neubauer, who is the chair of the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation into the disaster, states the report is taking longer than expected. He notes that it is complex and ongoing. This is not as unusual as it sounds. Often investigations can take longer because of the many factors that have to be weighed and examined to determine what exactly went wrong. This happens often in airline disasters when the cause is complicated, and more than one factor is involved. “We are working closely with our domestic and international partners to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the incident,” said Neubauer.
Parallel to this story is how dives to the Titanic are being done or planned. RMS Titanic, Inc will have an upcoming dive to Titanic. No actual salvage is being planned (there was some opposition from the U.S. government on that) so it will be to collect more data on the wreck and everything around it. There have been reports of others wanting to jump back into commercial dives to Titanic. OceanGate at this time is not planning any return to Titanic for the foreseeable future. The AP reports that the company declined any comment when asked about it. A former advisor to the company, David Concannon, claims that its former president (Stockton Rush) has been vilified along with those associated with the expedition. He made an interesting statement though that many who were on the support ship Polar Prince have yet to be interviewed by the Coast Guard. That seems odd considering it is usually the case you want to get as many witness statements as you can about how things were going on.
One of the things that came out of the tragedy according to a separate AP story on this, was that none those tasked with responding to this emergency had the equipment needed to dive down to Titanic. Richard Garriott, who is president of the Explorer’s Club, knew all the people involved and was deeply saddened by the loss.
Garriott believes even if the Titan hadn’t imploded, the correct rescue equipment didn’t get to the site fast enough. The tragedy caught everyone from the Coast Guard to the ships on site off guard, underscoring the importance of developing detailed search and rescue plans ahead of any expedition, he said. His organization has since created a task force to help others do just that.
Katy Croff Bell, a veteran deep-sea explorer notes that the tragedy brings home the importance of following industry standards and rigorous testing. So, while the tragedy looms large over anyone thinking about such Herculean dives, the technology to do it safely is there. And as reports have indicated, there are those out there who plan to resume commercial dives to Titanic. Bell heads up a group focused on making such investigations less expensive and accessible. It will be a while before those operations are up and running, so time will tell how many will invest hard money to do this kind of operation.
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James Cameron (famed director of Titanic) stated at a recent appearance on a news show about the Titan submersible tragedy that they (OceanGate) broke all the rules. He went on further to say that the submersible should not have been carrying passengers. As the first anniversary of the sinking approaches, Cameron opined that there is a lot of mystery surrounding the investigation. Cameron claims he offered to be part of the investigative community for the U.S. Coast Guard, but they turned it down.
“I think they want to do things their way and frankly I think they’ve kind of got egg on their face and they don’t want outside opinions. That’s just my interpretation.”
Cameron also criticized the media circus that erupted over the tragedy saying that they fueled unwarranted hope that they would be alive. And they knew the location of the submersible and had no readily available means to dive to it. He accuses the Coast Guard of withholding information to the families of those who perished. And that they knew from naval intelligence that an implosion had occurred.
“They just didn’t disclose. They were informed by naval intelligence that an implosion event was tracked to the co-ordinate of the Titanic wreck site.”
Cameron does believe charges are appropriate but the main person responsible, OceanGate CEO Rush Stockton, perished in the tragedy.
Cameron indicates that he will build a submersible to go down to Titanic. He was a friend of Paul-Henri Nargeolet,who perished in the tragedy, and wants to honor his friend and show that it can be safely done.
Log Purported To Be From Titan Submersible Deemed A Fraud
A supposed transcript distributed via YouTube and TikTok not long after the Titan submersible tragedy in June 2023 claimed to be the log from the doomed expedition has deemed a fraud. While many did put disclaimers as to its authenticity, Snopes marked it as “unconfirmed.” Now it has been deemed a fake
“I’m confident it’s a false transcript,” Jason Neubauer, a retired U.S. Coast Guard captain who now chairs the Marine Board of Investigation, told The New York Times. “It was made up.”
The transcript appears to make it sound like those in the submersible knew what was happening. However, the actual transcript (never made public) does not match up with it casting further doubt it was authentic. The men had no idea that Titan was about to implode. So far no one has been identified as the author of the transcript.
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Colorised photo of Ned Parfett, best known as the “Titanic paperboy”, holding a large newspaper about the sinking, standing outside the White Star Line offices at Oceanic House on Cockspur Street near Trafalgar Square in London SW1, April 16, 1912. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
As noted on 30 May, an Ohio billionaire named Larry Connor wants to dive to Titanic to show that submersibles are safe. This has prompted Shelley Binder, the descendant of Titanic survivors Leah and Phillip Aks to come forward an object to his plan. According to the interview, she believes the resting place of those who died should remain undisturbed.
“Fundamentally, I think one could say these people have more dollars than sense,” Binder told the outlet. “And the idea of tourism to a wreck where 1,496 people lost their lives in a truly horrific disaster of epic proportions is offensive. What happened aboard that ship was extremely traumatic and harrowing for my great-grandmother and great-uncle. This was a devastating and landmark moment in their lives, and it had long-lasting repercussions for my entire family.”
While diving to the wreck to retrieve artifacts requires court approval, merely diving down to see the wreck is legal. When the idea of Titanic dive tourism began, RMS Titanic Inc. sought to stop people from diving claiming it had sole access to the wreck. However a federal appeals court ultimately ruled against them agreeing with the argument that merely viewing cannot violate their salvage claim. After all, one may have exclusive photos of the Empire State Building in New York but you cannot stop people from going to it and taking their own pictures.
Whether or not Larry Connor will go through with it is another story. However it is more likely to occur than a certain Australian mogul’s desire to build a modern day Titanic. Despite lots of fanfare, it remains unbuilt to this day.
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A supposed transcript distributed via YouTube and TikTok not long after the Titan submersible tragedy in June 2023 claimed to be the log from the doomed expedition has deemed a fraud. While many did put disclaimers as to its authenticity, Snopes marked it as “unconfirmed.” Now it has been deemed a fake