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
Sinking of the RMS Titanic it. Some experts now believe that this haze was actually a mirage caused by cold waters meeting warm air (similar to a water mirage in the desert) when "Titanic" entered Iceberg Alley. This would have resulted in a raised horizon, blinding the lookouts from spotting anything far away. Nine minutes later, at 23:39, Fleet spotted an iceberg in "Titanic"s path. He rang the lookout bell three times and telephoned the bridge to inform Sixth Officer James Moody. Fleet asked "Is there anyone there?" Moody replied, "Yes, what do you see?" Fleet replied: "Iceberg, right ahead!" After thanking Fleet, Moody relayed