Captain Moore himself testified that no passenger could have witnessed an event such as rockets bursting over a ship since no passenger was on deck at 12 o'clock at night to be able to see it. Over the years, attempts have been made to stir up further controversy over Mount Temples role in the sinking of the Titanic, often in a thinly-veiled attempt to deflect blame and responsibility from the Leyland liner Californian, which was probably closer to the scene of the tragedy, and whose officers reported seeing a number of rockets bursting over an unidentified ship they were watching.
Captain Moore stated that no passengers could have seen rocket explosions above a ship at midnight. Over years, there have been attempts to reignite controversies about Mount Temple's role in the Titanic sinking, often with the goal of deflecting blame from the Leyland liner Californian, which was probably closer and whose crew reported seeing rockets over an unidentified vessel.