Titanic's Tragedy - How did we try to prevent a repeat?

Photographic Print of the Iceberg
Believed to have Sunk the Titanic

The Titanic disaster inspired an unprecedented number of safety regulations and organizations to help minimize future losses.

International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is an international maritime safety treaty first adopted in 1914 as a direct result of the Titanic disaster.  Several versions of SOLAS have been updated and adopted since 1914, and it is accepted as the most important international treaty dictating safety requirements of merchant ships.

Since 1913 the International Ice Patrol has patrolled the Atlantic to report icebergs. Their website affirms their success.  "No vessel that has heeded the Ice Patrol's published iceberg limit has collided with an iceberg."

Immediately following the Titanic disaster the US Navy patrolled the Atlantic to discover, track and report icebergs in the area.  But in 1913, the Navy could no longer spare the ships, so the Seneca and the Miami of Revenue Cutter Service assumed these responsibilities as part of the International Ice Patrol.  When the Revenue Cutter Service merged with the US Life Saving Service in January of 1915, they formed the US Coast Guard.

The US Radio Act of 1912 required all seafaring vessels to staff round the clock radio communications and to maintain contact with nearby ships.  And to reduce growing conflict on the airwaves between amateur radio operators and navy vessels, the act also dictated that amateur radio operators be licensed.

Additionally, The double bottoms of many existing ships were extended up the sides of their hulls, including the the Titanic's sister ship, RMS Olympic.And the bulkheads on many other ships were extended higher to make the compartments fully watertight.