Sinking of the RMS Titanic Sinking of the RMS Titanic "Titanic" received six warnings of sea ice on 14 April but was travelling near her maximum speed when her lookouts sighted the iceberg. Unable to turn quickly enough, the ship suffered a glancing blow that buckled her starboard side and opened five of her sixteen compartments to the sea. "Titanic" had been designed to stay afloat with four of her forward compartments flooded but no more, and the crew soon realised that the ship would sink. They used distress flares and radio (wireless) messages to attract help as the passengers were put into lifeboats. In
RMS Titanic the starboard side of "Titanic" struck the iceberg, creating a series of holes below the waterline. The hull was not punctured by the iceberg, but rather dented such that the hull's seams buckled and separated, allowing water to seep in. Five of the ship's watertight compartments were breached. It soon became clear that the ship was doomed, as she could not survive more than four compartments being flooded. "Titanic" began sinking bow-first, with water spilling from compartment to compartment as her angle in the water became steeper. Those aboard "Titanic" were ill-prepared for such an emergency. In accordance with accepted