The captain of the Titanic had more than icebergs to contend with on the ill-fated voyage that ended 104 years ago on 15 April, a document has revealed.
A report was handed to Capt Edward Smith before the ship left Southampton for its maiden voyage to New York on 10 April 1912, warning him of the presence of a mast of a submerged wreck in the Atlantic.
The scrunched-up piece of paper was handed back to the messenger as it was not on the ship when it sank after hitting an iceberg, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,500 people.
The note ended up in the offices of the solicitors hired to represent White Star Line, the company that owned the Titanic, for the multiple cases for compensation.
The document was acquired by an American collector of Titanic memorabilia, who is selling it on 23 April at an auction at Henry Aldridge and Son in Devizes, Wiltshire. The estimated cost is put at £8,000–£12,000.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: “This report was from the offices of the White Star Line’s marine superintendent at Southampton directly to Captain Smith warning him of a potential obstruction ahead.”
“The obstruction wasn’t an iceberg but the mast of a wreck that had been reported by the Rotterdam, a Dutch liner that had travelled from New York. The obstacle would have done some serious damage and ripped a hole in the hull of Titanic had it gone straight over it,” Andrew Aldridge added.
Source: The Guardian
