15th April - Titanic - Her Final Destination
Gary Hibberd FCIIS
I simplify ISO27001 & Information Security for SMEs, helping them practice good 'Cyber Hygiene' ??
Sunday, 15th April 1912
The glancing blow with the iceberg was fatal to the Titanic.
As the berg, scraped and ground along 300m of the starboard bow, it buckled her hull in several places causing rivets to pop, and created a series of holes below the waterline. This exposed her first five compartments to the sea. Approximately 35,000 tonnes of water would eventually enter the Titanic, taking her displacement from 52,310 tonnes to 87,310 tonnes.
12am - Chaos ensues
As the lifeboats begin to be readied for launch, the crew grappled with the unfamiliar davits amongst an increasing throng of passengers who were slowly making their way to the upper decks. Some had life jackets, others arrived in their nightgowns and slippers.
It would take almost an hour to launch the first lifeboat as the chaos and confusion grew onboard, and passengers slowly realised this was not a drill.
As lifeboats were lowered, the order was given to load "Women and children first". However, some of the crew took this order to mean "Women and children ONLY", meaning Lifeboats began to be released with less than half of their 65 seat capacity.
If filled to capacity, the 20 boats had space for only 1,178, no where near the number needed to carry the 2,223 people on board.
12:20am - CQD - A Call for help
At around 12:15am the Captain orders wireless operators Phillips and Bride to send out the distress signal 'CQD' (CQ is a general callsign while 'D' is for Distress). Bride would later testify that after a while they decided to use the new 'SOS' call which had been introduced a few years earlier.
The?Frankfurt?is among the first to respond, but the liner is some 170 nautical miles (315 km) away, to the south. The SS Californian sat quietly, radio switched off, just 6 miles away
The?Carpathia?receives the distress signal, “Come at once. We have struck a berg. It's a CQD, old man.”. Although over 58 miles away, Captain Arthur Rostron orders them to immediately change course to aid the stricken ship.
It will take the?Carpathia?more than three hours to arrive. During that time the Captain showed exemplary leadership as he made no less than 83 separate orders to ensure a faster arrival and a safe transfer of passengers to the liner.
12:45am - Distress signals
As passengers waited to enter lifeboats, they are entertained by the?Titanic's musicians, as lifeboat No 7 is finally lowered into the water, with less than 50% of her capacity.
As the boat is lowered, the night sky is illuminated, as the first of 8 distress flares is released.
A ship has been sighted less than 10 miles away, but the crew on board the Titanic are unable to contact it through telegraph or Morse lamp. The rockets would also prove to be unsuccessful.
Passengers were encouraged to wear the lifebelts, but in the icy water, these would prove useless, as the majority of those who went into the sea did not drown, but simply died of hyperthermia.
2am - The Captains final command
Over the course of the next hour, more lifeboats are released with less than half of their occupancy. the MD and chairman of the Whitestar line has already stepped into one of the lifeboats, saving himself from the disaster which would go on to haunt him for the rest of his life.
By now the?Titanic's bow has sunk low enough that the stern's propellers are visible, high above the water. As distress rockets continue to explode in the night sky, the sound of the musicians filled the air, offering a haunting backdrop to the cries from the ocean. Sights and sounds many of the survivors said would remain with them for the rest of their lives.
As all this was happening, it's important to recognise the dedication and commitment shown by the engineers working in the bowels of the Titanic, as they were instrumental in keeping her lights burning. They were the first to feel the full force of the disaster, but the last to leave. And in many cases, did not leave at all.
It is around this time that the Captain releases the crew, saying "Well boys, you’ve done your duty and done it well. I ask no more of you. I release you. You know the rule of the sea. It’s every man for himself now, and God bless you".
Captain EJ Smith is last seen on the bridge preparing to go down with his ship. His body will never be recovered.
2:18am - The final chapter
As survivors watch from the lifeboats, they are ordered to row away from the sticken vessel, less they be pulled under by the suction.
But as 2:20am approached, everyone stopped and watched as the lights flickered on board the Titanic, and finally died. The stern of the Titanic rose almost 4 stories high into the night sky, as the bow continues to sink below the surface.
It was at this point that some witnesses say they hear the sound of cracking and explosions, as the ship breaks in two, between the 3rd and 4th funnels.
As the bow disappears, the stern momentarily settles back in the water before rising again, eventually becoming vertical. It briefly remains in that position, silently waiting, before beginning its final journey to its final resting place, some 2.5 miles below the surface of the ocean.
The RMS Titanic is gone.
Of the 2,223 onboard 1,523 lost their lives over the course of just a few hours due to the exposure.
705 People were eventually taken to safety by the Carpathia, who arrived some 2hrs after the Titanic sank.
The Lessons
The Titanic story has so many stories to teach us, and if you have read the previous articles you will know that I have already discussed a number of them.
I have already mentioned the lack of training of crew members as a contributing factor to so many people losing their lives. But there are different aspects to this that we must explore.
Some crew members took the order of "Women and Children first" to mean women and children only. One word cost the lives of many men and women that night as some women simply refused to leave their husbands behind (e.g Isador and Ida Strauss).
Having clear processes which are easy to understand are important. But having a clear incident management plan that people understand in a crisis is vital!
Do not miss this important point - Having a plan is different to knowing how to execute it in a crisis. When there is chaos all around, are you relying on people 'doing their duty', interpreting commands based on past experience, or worse - using overly complicated plans!?
I've seen some companies selling BC Plan templates which contain a BCM Policy, Objectives, Strategy, Testing process, Testing results... and finally some instructions on what to do in a crisis! When you're in the midst of a crisis these plans contain pages and pages of useless information! Feel free to document this information (especially for ISO22301), but do NOT include them in you incident management plan.
When developing your Crisis management, incident response or emergency processes keep simplicity and clarity in mind. For example, when I write my Incident Response Plans, each line (command?) is less than 7 words long. E.g.
Why? Because I know that our reading capability drops several degrees when we are in a hightened state of emotion.
Leave no room for ambiguity and interpretation.
Exercise your team. Test your plan
When I focus on the lack of training it goes to all aspects of the crew, including the leaders. On the evening of the disaster, survivors said they saw the Captain walking around the ship 'aimlessly', as if caught in a state of shock. There are conflicting stories about the actions of the Captain that night, but he had already declared he could never foresee the possibility of a disaster that would cause a ship (like Titanic) to founder. Was he fully prepared for such a disaster? Probably not.
When organisations tell me they test their Disaster Recovery Plans, I always ask what exercises have they conducted with the management team? Are the people responding to incidents aware of the plan? Do they know how to execute it? What assumptions have been made in its creation?
Finally, it's worth remembering that there is no such thing as a perfect plan. In fact the German field marshal, known as "Moltke the Elder" said "No plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy's main strength."
Or to put it another way... No plan survives first contact. Train your teams on incident management and have clear, concise and meaningful plans. If your Incident Response Plan is 2 pages long... it's 1 page too long already.
Keep it simple.
Want to know more?
You can read more by reading the earlier articles. Tomorrow I will outline what lessons society took from this disaster.
Consultant Data Protection Officer
2 年A great uncle perished on the Titanic. A postcard and his watch was on display for years at the Aberdeen Maritime museum.
NED, Chief Executive Officer and Director working in the Sustainability, Insurance and Healthcare Advisor roles to business owners
2 年Gary Hibberd FCIIS an excellent and insightful few days following these posts. Quality as always pal