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 respond was SS "Mount Temple", which set a course and headed for "Titanic"'s position but was stopped en-route by pack ice. Much nearer was , which had warned "Titanic" of ice a few hours earlier. Apprehensive at his ship being caught in a large field of drift ice, "Californian"s captain, Stanley Lord, had decided at about 22:00 to halt for the night and wait for daylight to find a way through the ice field. At 23:30, 10 minutes before "Titanic" hit the iceberg, "Californian"s sole radio operator, Cyril Evans, shut his set down for the night and went to