Passengers of the RMS Titanic April 1912 at around 11:40 pm, while the RMS "Titanic" was sailing about south of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, the ship struck an iceberg and began to sink. Shortly before midnight, Captain Edward Smith ordered the ship's lifeboats to be readied and a distress call was sent out. The closest ship to respond was Cunard Line's away, which would arrive in an estimated four hours—too late to rescue all of "Titanic" passengers. Forty-five minutes after the ship hit the iceberg, Captain Smith ordered the lifeboats to be loaded and lowered under the orders women and children first. The first
Sinking of the RMS Titanic to take the ship farther south. At 13:45, the German ship SS "Amerika", which was a short distance to the south, reported she had "passed two large icebergs". This message never reached Captain Smith or the other officers on "Titanic"s bridge. The reason is unclear, but it may have been forgotten because the radio operators had to fix faulty equipment. Although the crew was aware of ice in the vicinity, they did not reduce the ship's speed, and continued to steam at , only short of her maximum speed of . "Titanic"s high speed in waters where ice had been