Publisher's Synopsis
Why did the Titanic's lookouts fail to spot a massive iceberg as large as St. Paul's Cathedral and probably weighing a million tonnes which suddenly appeared ahead of the fast-approaching vessel in calm seas on a clear evening in April 1912?
Testimony given during the US and British Inquiries into the sinking indicates there was evasion and dishonesty in their responses and an official reluctance to place any responsibility for the sinking on the hapless lookouts.
This fascinating account of a less well-known aspect of the Titanic story explores factors which likely contributed to the disaster and probably made the lookouts task that night more difficult and exposes the indifference and cynicism of Government officials to investigate the past loss of life at sea, which might have been due to ineffectual lookouts high up in the crow's nest of vessels traversing the world's oceans and seas.
Board of Trade complacency and insufficient regulations meant sailors with impaired vision could occupy a strategic post on a vessel and escape blame should the ship come to grief.
During the British Inquiry, evidence suggests the Commissioner, Lord Mersey, was unwilling to consider any testimony which suggested any culpability for the loss of the Titanic on the part of the lookouts, even though credible statements made by other witnesses at the time told of their likely contribution towards the collision.
Had the lookouts on watch been found to have been inattentive and shown to be lying under oath, the implications for the Board of Trade, the White Star Line and Merchant Shipping, in general, would be far-reaching and place the mercantile industry under scrutiny for their misplaced reliance on fallible lookouts to assist in a vessel's safe passage.
There was a lack of formal training or appropriate assessment of candidates for such an important role when so much depended on the diligence and abilities of the lookouts for the safe navigation of the ship and the lives of passengers.
This account raises serious questions which indicate a presumption of innocence of wrongdoing that was not supported by the evidence presented before the Court.
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