Passengers of the RMS Titanic April 1912 at around 11:40 pm, while the RMS "Titanic" was sailing about south of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, the ship struck an iceberg and began to sink. Shortly before midnight, Captain Edward Smith ordered the ship's lifeboats to be readied and a distress call was sent out. The closest ship to respond was Cunard Line's away, which would arrive in an estimated four hours—too late to rescue all of "Titanic" passengers. Forty-five minutes after the ship hit the iceberg, Captain Smith ordered the lifeboats to be loaded and lowered under the orders women and children first. The first
RMS Titanic alternative theories RMS Titanic alternative theories The sinking of the RMS "Titanic" in 1912 attracted so much controversy that several alternative theories about its sinking have gained support. One version is that the sunken ship was actually the "Olympic", near-identical sister-ship of the "Titanic", which was the subject of a large insurance claim, and that the two vessels were secretly switched before the voyage. Another was that the "Titanic"s owner, J.P. Morgan, wanted to eliminate several prominent bankers who were opposing his plan for the creation of a U.S. central bank. The "Titanic" struck an iceberg, leaving a hole in her starboard