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
Lifeboats of the RMS Titanic were taken to the White Star Line's Pier 59 in New York, where souvenir hunters soon stripped them of much of their equipment. The "Titanic" nameplates were removed by White Star Line workmen and the boats were inventoried by the C.M. Lane Lifeboat Co. of Brooklyn. They were assessed for salvage at a collective value of £930 ($4,972) as the only salvageable items recovered from "Titanic", they may have been taken back to England aboard "Olympic", which left New York on 23 May 1912, before either being destroyed or quietly redistributed to other vessels. Although nothing now remains of the