12

THE MYSTERIOUS SHIP

Down in boiler room Number 5, order had been restored. The men working there were even beginning to have hope again. The watertight bulkhead was holding. The pumps were coping with the water that was now flooding in from boiler room Number 6.

Then disaster struck. Without warning, the bulkhead between Number 6 and Number 5 boiler room collapsed, possibly weakened by the earlier fire. Whatever the reason, tons of water now burst into the boiler room.

Most of the men working there escaped through the emergency hatches. But one of the engineers, Jonathan Shepherd, had broken his leg when he had fallen down an open manhole. Now his colleague Herbert Harvey tried to save him. But his heroic efforts were in vain and both men drowned. They were the first officers to die in the disaster but Herbert Harvey would not be the only person to show great bravery that night.

With boiler room Number 5 now flooded, the situation was becoming even more urgent. The pumps could no longer cope. It would only be a matter of time before boiler room Number 4 began to flood.

On deck the evacuation of the passengers was now under way. But there was still great confusion and much incompetence. Lifeboat Number 7 was the very first to be launched. Here, Murdoch was in charge on the starboard side. He lowered the boat with only 27 people on board. The boat could hold 65.

Why there were only 27 passengers on the boat is a mystery. Was it because Murdoch was worried that the davits would not be able to take the weight of a fully-loaded boat? Did he think that once it was in the water, it could take on other passengers? Or was it because at that point passengers were still reluctant to leave the large unsinkable ship for a small and seemingly flimsy wooden lifeboat?

All these factors could explain Murdoch's actions. Witnesses later stated that passengers were reluctant to board the lifeboats. Women did not wish to be separated from their husbands. Perhaps this was the reason Murdoch allowed men to board the boats that night, despite the captain's orders that women and children were to be evacuated first.

The lifeboat was lowered some 20 metres to the smooth sea below. As it descended, passengers could see the interior of the ship through the portholes. Lights still blazed brightly in the luxurious cabins and fabulous lounges. Everything seemed perfectly normal, with the cheerful music from the orchestra drifting on the cold night air. Only the ship's bow lying low in the water gave a lie to this air of normality.

Suddenly the lights of another ship were sighted. Hope was rekindled. Officer Boxhall, who was on the bridge, sighted the lights of the vessel off the Titanic’s bow. He estimated that it was about 5 miles away.

Immediately he informed Captain Smith. It was virtually the first piece of good news that the captain had heard that night. There was still hope. A ship was close by and could come to the rescue. Smith ordered Boxhall to try contacting the ship by Aldis lamp. ‘Signal that we are sinking,’ he said, ‘and that they must come quickly to our aid.’

The crew were not the only ones to see the ship's lights. Colonel Gracie also saw them. He even pointed them out to other passengers. Help was at hand. A ship was coming to rescue them. The news spread among those on deck. They were all going to be saved.

Boxhall immediately began signalling the ship. But it did not respond. Again and again Boxhall attempted to contact the ship but without success. For a moment he thought he had seen a response but realised it was probably the twinkling of a mast light.

Just then, an astonished quartermaster, George Rowe, contacted Boxhall. Rowe was on watch at the stern of the boat and reported that he had seen a lifeboat on the starboard side of the ship. Such was the confusion on board that Rowe had been completely forgotten about and was unaware of what was happening on deck.

Boxhall explained the situation and ordered Rowe to come to the bridge and bring emergency rockets with him. Boxhall intended trying to attract the attention of the nearby ship by firing the rockets high into the night sky.

Rowe arrived on the bridge and set up the rocket launcher on the bridge railing of the boat deck. Captain Smith ordered that a rocket be fired at five-minute intervals. Rowe fired the first rocket. It soared 800 feet into the dark sky. Here it burst into a brilliant white light, which punctured a hole in the darkness. But the ship still did not respond. Minutes later, it disappeared from sight.

Even today mystery still surrounds the presence of this ship. Did it actually exist? Were those who claimed to see its lights mistaken? This seems unlikely. Many saw the lights, including very experienced seamen like Captain Smith and Officer Boxhall.

So if the ship existed why did it not respond to the signals and the rockets? Was it engaged in some form of illegal activity? The chief officer of a Norwegian ship, the Samson, swore shortly before his death that it was his ship that was seen that night. They had been engaged in illegal fishing for seals in the area.

Thinking that the rockets were warnings from a coastguard ship to heave to and be inspected, they fled. Official records, however, show that this ship was fishing near Iceland at the time. So unless the records were falsified, the Samson could not be the mystery vessel. Today, the identity of the ship still remains a puzzle, one that will probably never be solved.

Seeing the rockets, any passengers with doubts about the danger they were in now began to realise the seriousness of the situation. Many knew that the Titanic had been in radio contact with other ships in the area, some of which were now coming to their aid. But if those ships were going to reach the stricken liner in time to save those on board, why was there a need to fire distress rockets?

It began to dawn on the passengers that it was likely that no ship would arrive in time. The captain, in desperation, was now trying to attract the attention of any ship in the area which might reach them and avert a disaster.

What they couldn't know was that the ship best placed to carry out a rescue effort – the Californian – did see the distress rockets. Chief Officer Stone was on the bridge and saw the rockets light up the night sky. He thought that they might be fireworks. At that time liners did put on firework displays for the passengers.

Despite this conclusion, Stone reported what he had observed to Captain Lord. Lord ordered Stone to try and contact the ship by signal lamp. Stone did so but the other ship did not respond.

At the inquiry held into the sinking of the Titanic, Captain Lord disputed this version of events. He contradicted what his officers said, including the testimony of Stone and another seaman called Gibson. But despite this, much of the blame for the disaster was placed on Lord's shoulders. He was made a scapegoat for the disaster and was later sacked by the Leyland Shipping Company which owned the Californian.

So while the Californian took no action, the situation on the Titanic was becoming more desperate. By now the card players were aware that the ship was going to sink. They abandoned their card game and left the lounge to get their life-jackets.

Down in the crew's quarters, the water was steadily rising. It was flooding Scotland Road, which now was all but deserted. The lights still burned but with the engines no longer operating, an eerie silence seemed to pervade the ship.

Water was beginning to enter boiler room Number 4. The pumps were operating but were hardly able to cope. Eventually the boiler room would flood and have to be abandoned.

Throughout the ship, the reality of what was happening was becoming more obvious by the minute. The bow was sinking lower and lower in the water. Time was running out for all of those still on board.