The recent disaster of the Key Bridge being downed by a container ship invokes a law Titanic’s owners used to escape liability. The big difference is that this was a freight ship and not a passenger or cruise ship. While the law was amended to make changes after a small boat caught fire off California (and nearly everyone died), it does not apply here. You can certainly guess though that families that lost loved ones will be filing lawsuits. The Coast Guard and NTSB are both investigating but final report will be at least one to two years away.
Bloomberg. “Titanic Law Helps Ship Owner Limit Liability in Baltimore Bridge Collapse.” www.business-standard.com, 27 Mar. 2024, www.business-standard.com/world-news/titanic-law-helps-ship-owner-limit-liability-in-baltimore-bridge-collapse-124032700081_1.html.
The company could face a bevy of lawsuits from multiple directions, including from the bridge’s owner and anyone who sues for personal injury or emotional distress. Damages claims are likely to fall on the ship owner and not the agency that operates the bridge, since stationary objects aren’t typically at fault if a moving vessel hits them, said Michael Sturley, a maritime law expert at the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Law. But an 1851 law could lower the exposure to tens of millions of dollars by capping the ship owner’s liability at how much the vessel is worth after the crash, plus any earnings it collected from carrying the freight on board, said Martin Davies, the director of Tulane University’s Maritime Law Center. The law was passed initially to prevent shipping giants from suffering steep and insurmountable losses from disasters at sea. An eight-figure sum, while still hefty, would amount to “considerably less” than the full claims total, Davies said.
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One wonders if the person who bought it is one of those movie buffs that will add to their collection or perhaps a gallery or museum which will put it up to attract visitors. Or could it be that Clive Palmer bought it to be displayed on Titanic II?
Rhoden-Paul, By Andre. “Titanic ‘door’ prop that kept Rose alive sells for $718,750.” BBC, 27 Mar. 2024, www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68672177.
The floating piece of wood that kept Titanic’s Rose alive has been sold for $718,750 (£569,739) at auction. The listing noted the prop “has caused much debate from fans”. The sale was made during an auction of props and costumes owned by restaurant and resort chain Planet Hollywood.
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Search for Titanic Books on Amazon.
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Quann, Peg. “Titanic Dinner to Be Recreated to Raise Funds for Johnsville Centrifuge Museum.” PhillyBurbs.com, 25 Mar. 2024, www.phillyburbs.com/story/news/local/2024/03/25/titanic-aerospace-warminster-museum-dinner-ivyland-johnsville-centrifuge/72986333007.
It may seem odd that the Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum, which celebrates Bucks County’s significant history in the race to outer space, will hold a fundraising dinner April 6 featuring the first-class menu from the ill-fated Titanic on the night the ship sank. But guest speaker Fred Hagen, a Bensalem businessman, is both an aviation and underwater researcher who has visited the sunken wreck of the Titanic. He was aboard the submersible Titan on an Atlantic Ocean mission to the Titanic before the one in which it tragically exploded last June.
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“Fundraising Dinner Event to Mark Anniversary of Fateful Titanic Voyage.” The Bucks County Herald, 21 Mar. 2024, buckscountyherald.com/stories/fundraising-dinner-event-to-mark-anniversary-of-fateful-titanic-voyage,42196.
A Night to Remember, a special fundraising event featuring a recreation of the last meal served on the R.M.S. Titanic, will take place from 6-10 p.m. Saturday, April 6 at Spring Mill Manor, 171 Jacksonville Road, Ivyland, and will benefit the capital campaign of the Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum. In addition to an elegant menu recalling that served in the first class dining room aboard the ship on its final night, the event will include a live quartet playing period music and an exhibition of Titanic artifacts from the private collection of Titanic expert Craig Sopin, secretary of the Titanic International Society. Additionally, the program for the evening will include a presentation by explorer, adventurer and businessman Alfred (Fred) Hagen, who will share the story of his two journeys to the Titanic wreck aboard the submersible Titan.
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Search for Titanic Books on Amazon.
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This is not about actual Titanic memorabilia but rather items from Cameron’s Titanic that are being put up for auction. The once iconic restaurant started seeing a serious drop off in repeat customers causing its profits to drop considerably. The food was considered underwhelming by most reviewers. And while it had the Hollywood vibe, without repeat customers, it started losing money and shuttered many restaurants and finally had to head to bankruptcy court to sort things out. You know things are bad when the very celebrities you once banked on to give your place that Hollywood vibe were rarely seen or none at all. You can read a news article about it at https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/what-really-happened-to-planet-hollywood-and-where-you-can-still-find-them/ar-AA1b6LSb.
Dallas Express. “Titanic Memorabilia Listed at Dallas Auction.” Dallas Express, 20 Mar. 2024, dallasexpress.com/lifestyle/titanic-memorabilia-listed-at-dallas-auction.
The debate over Jack and Rose’s potential survival atop a wooden panel during the climax of Titanic has once again taken center stage, this time as a highlight of a local auction event in Dallas hosted by Heritage Auctions. Titanic’s infamous wood panel is among the 1,600 items owned by Planet Hollywood, as reported by The Dallas Morning News.
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DM Editorial. “New Expedition to Titanic Wreckage Could Get Go-ahead After Titan Tragedy.” International | Daily Mirror, 15 Mar. 2024, www.dailymirror.lk/international/New-expedition-to-Titanic-wreckage-could-get-go-ahead-after-Titan-tragedy/107-278891.
A planned expedition to the resting place of the Titanic could get the go-ahead after plans were scaled back in the aftermath of the fatal Titan implosion last year. The US government is seeking more information on the revised plans for the expedition, which is scheduled to go ahead in May, Kent Porter, an assistant US attorney, told a federal judge in Virginia on Wednesday.
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Here we go again. He tried this in 2012 and 2018. He did get some preliminary work done (mostly designing and lining up others to help out) but the shipyard never got the order. Or if it did, it never got acted on. Both Palmer and China got into a big snit (it had to do with one of his businesses) so that delayed the project being built. And then the Covid Pandemic hit and that knocked things out. Now he is back again with this mammoth project. Believe me, a lot of people would like to see an actual floating replica of Titanic but costs have soared since then. And then he has to find a shipyard to build it (I cannot see him going back to China to do this). I have real serious doubts this will be built. A Chinese version that was going to be built for an attraction never got built either (and you would be able to stay aboard it and even experience the “Titanic Sinking Simulator” as well.
Pedler, Taryn. “Billionaire Plans to Build Titanic II With Maiden Voyage Set for 2027.” Mail Online, 14 Mar. 2024, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13195841/What-possibly-wrong-Australian-billionaire-revives-plans-create-Titanic-II-maiden-voyage-set-2027.html.
Clive Palmer, 69, unveiled his latest plans at Sydney Opera House on Wednesday, claiming his build would be ‘far superior than the original’. The mining tycoon told his audience that his company, Blue Star Line, would construct ‘the ship of love and the ultimate in style and luxury’ but admitted he does not currently have a shipyard secured to complete the construction. Palmer reassured his audience that he was confident he’d be able to find one and start construction by 2025, with the ship’s maiden voyage from Southampton to New York – replicating the ill-fated 1912 voyage of the original. The construction of the mega 56,000-tonne replica is estimated to set Palmer back by £1billion but the businessman is set on bringing the RMS Titanic back to life.
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Search for Titanic Books on Amazon.
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You would think that someone at OceanGate might have sent a letter, email, or just called to express their sadness that her father died aboard their craft.
Keane, Isabel. “Daughter of Titanic Expert Killed in Titan Sub Implosion Says Dives to See Famed Shipwreck Should Continue.” New York Post, 11 Mar. 2024, nypost.com/2024/03/11/world-news/paul-henri-nargeolets-daughter-slams-oceangate-over-titan-tragedy.
The daughter of the French Titanic expert who died in the Titan submersible implosion last summer slammed the ill-fated sub’s creator for not reaching out to her family following the tragedy — but said trips to the famous shipwreck should continue. Sidonie Nargeolet, the 40-year-old daughter of the deep-sea explorer known as “Mr. Titanic,” Paul-Henri Nargeolet, says no one at OceanGate offered condolences after her father perished aboard the submersible as it approached the wreckage of the Titanic on June 18, 2023. “My anger is mostly because no one from OceanGate contacted us to say we are sorry for your loss,” Nargeolet told Pen News. “At least I think they could have contacted us to say we are sorry for your loss.”
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Lamdin, By Emma Elgee and Fiona. “Woman thanks RNLI for saving Titanic survivor in second shipwreck.” BBC News, 10 Mar. 2024, www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-somerset-68467635.
Fiona Kilbane, from Somerset, said her great-grandmother Mary Roberts was a “determined” woman. She was the head stewardess on the Titanic when it sank in 1912. Two years’ later she was saved by the RNLI when working as a nurse on the Rohilla, which sank off the coast of Whitby in North Yorkshire. Hayley Whiting, RNLI heritage and archive manager said: “We can never really decided if Mary Roberts is really lucky or unlucky, it depends on how you want to look at her.”
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This is a nice story of a kid who saw a LEGO replica and decided to build one himself. It took him several months to complete.
Herald, Lethbridge. “City Teen Docks Titanic Replica at Grandparents’ House.” The Lethbridge Herald – News and Sports From Around Lethbridge, 6 Mar. 2024, lethbridgeherald.com/news/lethbridge-news/2024/03/04/city-teen-docks-titanic-replica-at-grandparents-house.
A local teenager has helped the Titanic reach its destination, at least in LEGO form, after embarking on the building of a replica of the famous ship, during a journey that took months to complete.
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Ma, Haiyan. “Seawise Giant Vs Titanic: Comparing the Maritime Titans.” Cruise Hive, 3 Mar. 2024, www.cruisehive.com/seawise-giant-vs-titanic/124988.
Enormous ships have always captivated the imaginations of the general public. The RMS Titanic ocean liner and the Seawise Giant supertanker are among history’s most iconic and memorable vessels. Although at 1,504.1 feet long, the Seawise Giant is the longest ship ever constructed, eclipsing the 882-foot length of the Titanic, the two ships are still considered titans of their respective eras.
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Video:
“Titanic Survivors Discovered in Illinois Cemetery.” https://www.kwqc.com, 3 Mar. 2024, www.kwqc.com/video/2024/03/03/titanic-survivors-discovered-illinois-cemetery.
5. True or not? Various internet postings report that the Titanic exhibition at the Luxor in Las Vegas was recently shut down by water damage. The sign posted states: Attention. Titanic The Artifact Exhibition is closed due to water damage. Our Apologies For Any Inconvenience. Now strangely when I tried to track down the source, there were not any local news articles but either blog postings or reporting of the blog postings. A quick search for actual news reporting shows nothing recently about the Luxor Titanic exhibit closing for water damage. That does not mean it did not occur, it just did not get any reporting. Some said it was in Belfast, then it was changed to possibly the Luxor in Las Vegas. So far I have not found any confirmation of this yet. So until we have a bit more proof I put this into the Not Proven category.