RMS Titanic even head-on collisions had not been disastrous. In 1907 , a German liner, had rammed an iceberg but still had been able to complete her voyage, and Captain Smith himself had declared in 1907 that he "could not imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder. Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that." At 11:40 p.m. (ship's time) on 14 April, lookout Frederick Fleet spotted an iceberg immediately ahead of "Titanic" and alerted the bridge. First Officer William Murdoch ordered the ship to be steered around the obstacle and the engines to be stopped, but it was too late;
Wreck of the RMS Titanic Geographic" documentary of Ballard's 1986 expedition had inspired him to write a synopsis in 1987 of what eventually became the film: "Do story with bookends of present day scene of wreck using submersibles intercut with memories of a survivor and re-created scenes of the night of the sinking. A crucible of human values under stress." Cameron's expedition did not salvage anything from the ship. The 2000 expedition by RMS Titanic Inc. carried out 28 dives during which over 800 artefacts were recovered, including the ship's engine telegraphs, perfume vials and watertight door gears. In 2001, an American couple – David