This also seems to be the same view that Rehorek had when he took the photograph. The iceberg described by Scarrott was one that closely resembled the Rock of Gibraltar, but inverted with the high point on the right. The highest point would be on my right, as it appeared to me.' 'As you approach Gibraltar - it seemed that shape. It looked very much the same shape as that, only much smaller.' 'Well, it struck me at the time that it resembled the Rock of Gibraltar. What Rehorek didn't know at the time was that he was taking a photograph of an iceberg that matched the eyewitness testimony of Titanic's seaman Joseph Scarrott. He took a photo of an iceberg that was nearby. Stephan Rehorek was on board and witnessed this horrible scene. The passengers on board could see wreckage and the bodies of more than a hundred victims floating on the surface. On April 20th, the German steamer Bremen sailed into the area of the disaster. Still, this iceberg doesn't fit the description of the testimonies given. The iceberg was spotted near the location of the sinking with bodies and wreckage in the vicinity. The ship arrived at the scene 11 days after Titanic sank. Even though this iceberg is generally accepted as the culprit, it does not fit the description of the testimonies given at the British inquiries.Īnother iceberg that could possibly be the culprit was photographed by Captain De Carteret of the vessel Minia, a cable ship that was chartered by the White Star Line to recover bodies that were still floating on the surface. This iceberg was given the reputation of being the berg that sank Titanic due to it being in the approximate vicinity to the sinking, and what appeared to be a red paint smear at its base. One of the icebergs in question was photographed by the Chief Steward of the German ocean liner Prinz-Adalbert. Out of the photos that were taken, three icebergs have been given special attention. There were many icebergs visible the morning after the sinking, and several photos were taken of icebergs either on this day or a few days later by passing ships. Today, there is more evidence to prove that there was grounding damage as well as the side damage to the ship. The scenario of Titanic 'grounding' on ice actually fits better with the descriptions of the impact provided by the passengers and crew.

The odds of ice not being there would be extremely rare. When Titanic struck the berg, there is a good chance that ice hidden below the surface caused damage to the underside of the ship as well. Most of an iceberg's mass is underneath the surface of the water. Even though there is evidence of damage along the starboard side, it is highly unlikely that Titanic suffered damage to that area only. It has long been believed that Titanic sideswiped the iceberg and that all the damage was located along the starboard side beneath the waterline. There would be no cause for concern.Įxample of Titanic 'grounding' on the iceberg. After all, Titanic was an unsinkable ship.

It seemed to be a case of curiosity rather than alarm. The impact was described as only a vibration, a slight pause in the movement of the ship, or the sensation of 'rolling over a thousand marbles' as one passenger testified. In fact, Titanic was so big that the impact was only felt by a fraction of all the people on board. Nevertheless, the iceberg was too close to be avoided by a ship of Titanic's size. It has even been suggested that 1st Officer Murdoch may have seen the berg and was already taking action moments before the lookouts had notified the bridge. The iceberg was spotted by Lookouts Fredrick Fleet and Reginald Lee only 37 seconds before impact. We all know that Titanic did indeed hit an iceberg.

Titanic iceberg