Sinking of the RMS Titanic believed that ice posed little risk; close calls were not uncommon, and even head-on collisions had not been disastrous. In 1907, , a German liner, had rammed an iceberg and suffered a crushed bow, but was still able to complete her voyage. That same year, "Titanic"s future captain, Edward Smith, declared in an interview that he could not "imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder. Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that." As "Titanic" approached her fatal collision, most passengers had gone to bed and command of the bridge had passed from Second Officer Charles Lightoller to 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