White Star Line naval mine, while in service as a hospital ship. "Britannic" was the largest loss for the company, and also the largest ship sunk during the conflict. 1916 also saw the loss of the liner "Cymric" which was torpedoed off the Irish coast in May, and also of the cargo ship "Georgic", which was scuttled in December with its cargo of 1,200 horses still on board, after being intercepted in the Atlantic by the German merchant raider . 1917 saw the loss of the liner "Laurentic" in January which struck a mine off the Irish coast and sank with the loss
Lifeboats of the RMS Titanic it more important to make a ship "unsinkable". Admiral Lord Charles Beresford, who served simultaneously as a high-ranking Royal Navy officer and Member of Parliament, told the House of Commons a month after the disaster: The White Star Line never envisaged that all of the crew and passengers would have to be evacuated at once, as "Titanic" was considered almost unsinkable. The lifeboats were instead intended to be used to transfer passengers off the ship and onto a nearby vessel providing assistance. While "Titanic" was under construction, an incident involving the White Star liner appeared to confirm this approach. "Republic"