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 disembarked at the main piers on Manhattan Island, but steerage passengers had to go through health checks and processing at Ellis Island. In at least some places, "Titanic"s crew appear to have actively hindered the steerage passengers' escape. Some of the barriers were locked and guarded by crew members, apparently to prevent the steerage passengers from rushing the lifeboats. Irish survivor Margaret Murphy wrote in May 1912: Before all the steerage passengers had even a chance of their lives, the "Titanic"s sailors fastened the doors and companionways leading up from the third-class section ... A crowd of men was trying