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 not members of their ship's crew; their primary responsibility was to send messages for the passengers, with weather reports as a secondary concern. The first warning came at 09:00 from reporting "bergs, growlers and field ice". Captain Smith acknowledged receipt of the message. At 13:42, relayed a report from the Greek ship "Athenia" that she had been "passing icebergs and large quantities of field ice". This too was acknowledged by Smith, who showed the report to J. Bruce Ismay, the chairman of the White Star Line, aboard "Titanic" for her maiden voyage. Smith ordered a new course to be set,