Titanic is, arguably, the most famous ship that has ever sailed. It is also the center of one of the most infamous disasters that took place on the seas. The effects of the tragedy where countless lives were lost still resonate today—most important of which was how it changed the maritime industry rules for sea travel. The company that built the ship also understandably drew flak from the public due to their previous claims that the ship was unsinkable.

Today, memorials to remember the victims of the tragedy are erected in various parts of the world. Furthermore, the sinking of the RMS Titanic was immortalized in books, stories, television shows, and movies, with one of the most iconic retellings of the disaster being James Cameron’s blockbuster 1997 film, Titanic. This article contains various Titanic statistics surrounding the ship, the survivors, and more.

Ship Statistics

In 1912, Titanic was the biggest ship afloat on the sea. It was an engineering marvel of its time and was indeed deserving to be named after the Titans of Greek mythology. The ship was constructed three years before its maiden and only voyage in a shipyard in Belfast, Ireland. On April 10, 1912, the RMS Titanic sailed out of Southampton, England. The ship’s final stop would have been in New York, USA.

To achieve its size and install top-class amenities, the ship’s construction was costly. Even the maintenance required to keep the ship running was not cheap. The ship was also designed to carry enough lifeboats for everyone on board. However, due to the hubris of its creators, they only loaded 20 boats.

• $7.5 million was the cost of building the RMS Titanic in 1912. If adjusted for inflation, the ship costs $174 million to make.
• Today, if Titanic was to be reconstructed, it will cost over $400 million to make.
• The maximum speed of the RMS Titanic was 23 knots or 26 mph.
• It took three years to construct the RMS Titanic.
• The ship had a total of 840 staterooms.
• There were 16 watertight compartments, extending up to F deck.
• The ship’s size was 882 feet, 8 inches or 268 meters.
• The ship had a gross tonnage of 46,328.
• The net tonnage of the ship was 24,900 tons.
• The ship’s depth was 59.5 feet.
• 825 tonnes of coal per day was used to fuel the ship.
• The Titanic was equipped to carry 64 lifeboats.
• The Titanic had 3560 life jackets and 49 lifebuoys.
• There were a total of 20 lifeboats aboard the RMS Titanic.
• The lifeboats had a rated capacity of 1,178 persons.
• There were a total of 9 decks on the ship.

Passenger Statistics

The ship’s route was from Southampton, England to Cherbourg, France to Queenstown, Ireland, and finally, New York, USA. Many of Britain’s aristocrats and America’s socialites boarded the ship with hopes of becoming part of its legendary maiden voyage. Additionally, ordinary people looking forward to moving to the US also boarded the ship.

• The RMS Titanic could carry 3,547 passengers and crew.
• The number of people aboard (passengers and crew) was 2,223.
• The RMS Titanic’s crew was 885 people.
• All of the passengers accounted for a total of 1,316.
• There were a total of 325 first-class passengers on the ship.
• Cost of first-class (parlor suite) one-way ticket was £870 or $4,350 ($83,200 today).
• 285 was the number of second-class passengers aboard the RMS Titanic.
• Second-class tickets cost £12 or $60 ($1200 today).
• Third-class passengers on board were 706.
• £3 to £8 or $40 ($298 to $793 today) was the cost of third-class tickets.

Casualty Statistics

The tragedy of the Titanic continues to be one of the most infamous disasters around the world. The sinking claimed thousands of lives. It was a battle for survival because the ship didn’t load the maximum number of lifeboats it can carry. Those who didn’t die during the collision and remote explosions across the ship either drowned or died of hypothermia.

• Over 1,500 people lost their lives.
• 68.2% of the passengers and crews were lost.
• 130 of the first-class passengers died during the sinking of the ship.
• The second-class passengers lost 166 people.
• Third-class passengers accounted for the largest loss of life among the passengers with 536.
• The ship’s crew suffered the most, losing over three-fourths of their numbers with 685 casualties.
• The search and rescue team recovered only 306 bodies.

Survivor Statistics

Only a handful of the ship’s passengers survived the incident. Furthermore, the number of survivors is directly proportional to the passenger class: the biggest portion of survivors were first-class passengers due to them being the first ones to board the limited number of lifeboats.

• The total number of rescued survivors were 706.
• The surviving passengers were 499.
• 212 of crews survived the tragedy.
• Almost 60% of the first-class passengers survived.
• About 42% of second-class passengers were rescued.
• Only about 26% of third-class passengers managed to survive the tragedy.

Sinking & Wreckage Statistics

On April 15, 1912, the unsinkable ship sunk.

The tragedy that befell the then world’s largest ship shocked the world. It was a disaster nobody foresaw. The incompetence of the ship’s crew in handling the crisis was partly to blame for the loss of lives. Additionally, external factors such as the slow rescue and freezing waters of the Atlantic put the floating passengers of the ship into a more precarious situation.

• RMS Titanic struck an iceberg minutes before midnight on April 14, 1912.
• The iceberg was estimated to be about 100 feet tall.
• Upon collision, the ship ruptured at least five of its hulls.
• The ship sunk at approximately 2:20 AM of April 15, 1912.
• The water’s temperature on the night of the sinking was estimated to be at 28 degrees Fahrenheit or -2 degrees Celsius.
• On September 1, 1985, a joint US-French expedition located the wreck of the Titanic lying on the ocean floor at a depth of about 13,000 feet.
• It took 74 years to find the wreck of the Titanic.
• The Carpathia arrived in the area, firing rockets at 3:30 AM.

Titanic in Media

As mentioned above, the tragedy that happened to the RMS Titanic was immortalized in various forms of media. Hundreds, if not thousands, of articles, documentaries, TV shows, and movies have been made about the incident. However, James Cameron’s reimagining of the sinking of the gargantuan ship remains the most famous one.

The movie was centered on two passengers, Rose and Jack, who met and fell in love with each other aboard the ship. Though the two characters were fictional, most of the details surrounding the sinking were accurately portrayed in the film. Moreover, the film also based a few characters based on real Titanic passengers like Margaret Brown—most famously known as “The Unsinkable Molly Brown.” The film went on to become a blockbuster hit and an Oscar darling.

• The movie had a production budget of $200 million.
• The domestic opening of the film raked in $28,638,131.
• The earliest release date of James Cameron’s movie was December 18, 1997.
• The epic disaster film became the first-ever movie to cross $1 billion in the box office.
• Titanic is one of the highest-grossing films of all time with $2,194,439,542 box office.
• Titanic received 14 nominations, including Best Picture in the 70th Academy Awards.
• The movie won 11 out of its 14 nominations.

Titanic: The Aftermath

For many people at the time, Titanic represented a golden age that was symbolically lost when the ship sunk, according to Dr. Eric Kentley. Until today, this interpretation debatably still stands because countless people are still fascinated by the legend surrounding the tragedy. Some people say that the ship sunk due to the hubris of its creators. Meanwhile, others say it was a manual error. Back then, the technology used to navigate open waters weren’t as reliable compared to those used today. According to one of the crew’s account, the cold sea air caused the air to bend abnormally downward. There was also a thick haze moments before the collision with the iceberg happened.

The company that made the Titanic also made reparations to the victims of this tragedy: White Star Line paid a total of $664,000 for all outstanding legal claims in December 1915. Moreover, the Claimants Committee estimated that the possible total value of claims was as high as $2.5 million.

On 12 November 1913, the first International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) in London was held as an effect of the Titanic disaster. The convention led to the formation and international funding of the International Ice Patrol to monitor chunks of icebergs floating on the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. The group was formally launched on January 30, 1914.

Today, the Titanic is often used as a metaphor by scholars across the world—a reminder that one’s hubris can lead to death and devastation.

References:

1. ROYAL CARIBBEAN’S SYMPHONY OF THE SEAS: THE WORLD’S LARGEST CRUISE SHIP
2. Ultimate Titanic | TITANIC: BY THE NUMBERS
3. The RMS Titanic By Numbers – Facts And Figures On The Tragic Belfast-Built Ship
4. Ultimate Titanic | TITANIC: AS TOLD BY THE SURVIVORS
5. The Unsinkable RMS TITANIC
6. 100 unsinkable facts about the Titanic
7. THIS DAY IN HISTORY | APRIL 15
8. Timeline of the Titanic’s Final Hours
9. Whatever happened to the iceberg that sank the Titanic?
10. Box Office Mojo | Titanic
11. Today In Film History: March 1st, 1998 – Titanic Becomes First Film To Gross $1 Billion Worldwide
12. THE 70TH ACADEMY AWARDS | 1998