One Starry Night

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 or more, which suddenly appeared ahead of the fast-approaching vessel in calm seas on a clear evening in April 1912?
This fascinating account of a less well-known aspect of the Titanic story explores factors which likely contributed to the disaster.
Testimony given during the US and British Inquiries into the sinking indicates there was evasion and dishonesty in the lookouts responses and an official reluctance to place any responsibility for the sinking on the hapless pair.
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.
For the seamen whose role it was to safeguard the lives of passengers and aid the safe navigation of the ship there was no formal training for such an important role when so much depended on the diligence and abilities of the lookouts.
In the age of steam, with faster Atlantic crossings, shipowners placed too much reliance on fallible lookouts to assist in a vessel's passage.
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.

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