Who do you think is responsible for the sinking of Titanic?

Question

I am doing a pretend trial in business law, and i am the defense attornye for White Star Lines, who is the owner of Titanic. I have to point the blame somewhere else, but i dont know who should be held responsible other than the captain, but everyone is saying that since the captain was employed by white star lines, then it is their fault and responsibility. any suggestions of where to put the blame? If so please explain why you chose who you chose. thanks so much!

Answer 1

I think the White Star line was legally responsible. As well as Harland & Wolfe, shipbuilders. They knowingly didn't put enough lifeboats for all; and used inferior quality rivets to same money.

Answer 2

Have to admit, in my opinion, the fault lays almost
entirely with White Star and the good Captain.

That is, the Captain was not following standard
procedure for iceburg avoidance, for proper handling
during the weather etc. Instead, he was being hounded
by the line to make good time.

To date, I've never seen anyone talk about contributory
neglegence. You might argue that those who designed
the boat might have made it more robust, or that the
people who outfitted it should have insisted on the full
complement of life boats - but ultimately, White Star
accepted the boat in its final, fatal configuration.

I'm sure that there was also personal stupidity and
inept actions on the part of those other than the crew
at the time of the event that may have been responsible
for individual deaths that might have been avoided.
Realistically, however, we'll probably never know who
those persons were and they were not responsible for
large chunks of the deaths, only individuals.

You might be able to argue that some loss of life
could have been prevented if other ships had maintained
better radio watch - but it was not their obligation to do so.

You've got a tough case to win.

If I were you, I would deflect blame by saying that White
Star was simply repeating past business practices and
those of the other shipping companies (The so called
"Everybody else does it" defense).

In my heart, I would hope that that defense would get
you nowhere, but who knows ...

Answer 3

the captain is still probably your best bet. They can say that he was emplyed by white star all they want, you just have to convince whoever your suposed to be convincing that it doesn't make white star responsible. I see how that could be difficult though. Well, I don't really know enough about the actual sinking of the titanic, besides what I learned from leonardo that is, so it's a bit difficult for me to say. If white star only built the ship, you could try to blame the people who designed in, or if they only designed it, you could try to blame the people who buit it, and if they did both you should quit.

Answer 4

I would go after J Bruce Ismay. He was the White Star Lines managing director who was on board the ship on that fateful voyage. He ordered the captain to increase speed so they could set a new speed record for crossing the Atlantic and be a big hit in the press by arriving in New York a day early. The captain protested, but was over ruled by Ismay who was essentially his boss. It was that increase of speed that sealed Titanic's fate. Ironically, Captain Smith perished with his ship but Ismay slipped into a life boat wearing a womans head scarf and coat, and survived the disaster he caused to happen.

Answer 5

Interesting question. You could deflect the blame to the ship's designer, who build water tight compartments only up to number 5. If more than 5 compartments flooded, there was no way to stop the ship from sinking (which is what happened). You can also say the designer made the propeller too small and that when the captain tried to turn the Titanic, the rudder couldn't compensate fast enough because it wasn't large enough for the size of the ship.

Answer 6

How about the wireless operators John George PHillips and Harold Bride. Early that morning of April 14th the wireless went dead and Phillips was so busy trying to fix it that he ignored a critical ice warning he had just received from another ocean liner.

This information is from an article I used with my students to try and decide what contributed to the Titanic tragedy. It's called "Titanic Past and Present" by Edward S. Kamuda. Check out titanichistoricalsociety.org and www.titanic1.org for more information.

Sounds like fun!

Answer 7

I am majoring in admiralty law (maritime law) -- in this case the Captain was clearly at fault. The Captain is always held responsible for the actions and/or inaction of his crew. If you are looking beyond that, then I would single out the crew who was on watch at the time (both on the deck and on the bridge). The company can be held responsible -- but it would be a difficult case to prove if it ever went to trial. Hope this helps.

Answer 8

I think Joseph Bruce Ismay should be to blame, he is the one that ordered the boilers to be "full speed ahead" so that they could get there ahead of their original time. Also, there has always been a theory about a fire in the coal area which helped to weaken the metal, and cause the ship to sink. I've always laid the blame on Ismay, especially since he was a coward and escaped on a lifeboat.

Answer 9

How about on the public and the captain. The captain was just trying to live up to the expectations of the people by getting to the destination quicker.
Blame all humans, global warming is the reason for the iceburg that sunk the ship...just kidding.

Answer 10

Their arrogance and too much love for enjoyment, which made them forget that humans need to be aware of situations that might pop up and catch us unawares. They simply considered themselves only as big as their ability to enjoy. But actually humans are far too bigger and greater than that. There is more in life than enjoyment through wine woman and water.