Today in History: April 17th-18th, 1912 : LIABILITY
April 17: Senator William Alden Smith of Michigan (pictured) called for an investigation into the accident and a subcommittee of the Senate’s Commerce Committee was created. Smith was made chairman, and six other senators (3 Dem. and 3 Rep.) were chosen.
April 18: The US Navy informed Smith that it had intercepted a message to the New York office of the White Star Line from someone aboard the Carpathia:
“Most desirable Titanic crew aboard Carpathia should be returned home earliest moment possible. Suggest you hold Cedric, sailing her daylight Friday unless you see any reason contrary. Propose returning in her myself. -YAMSI”
If YAMSI (J. Bruce Ismay) and crew never set foot in America, it would place them all out of reach of subpoenas for any American potential court hearing.
LIABILITY:
It was believed by anyone with knowledge of American maritime law, it was clear that Ismay’s attempt to avoid questions from the US authorities came down to liability.
In 1851 the US adopted a doctrine of maritime law known as ‘limitation of liability’. This provision effectively removed most of the ship-owner’s liability for any action over which they had no direct control over, including negligent actions by ship’s captain or crew at sea. In this situation, the owner was limited to only liable for the value of cargo lost.
Exception to the Limitation of Liability Doctrine: There was an exception to the limited liability doctrine, that would come into play with the Titanic disaster. “The owner’s liability was no longer limited if that owner had been in contact with the ship’s commander during the voyage and had in any way directed or controlled the actions undertaken by the ship’s captain while at sea.”
Ismay’s Actions: As President of IMM and Chairman of the White Star Line (owner of Titanic), Ismay was not merely in contact via wireless, but aboard the ship during the voyage. If it could be shown that he exercised any influence over Titanic’s Captain Smith’s actions, Ismay, IMM and White Star would no longer be protected by the “limited liability” doctrine. This would open the companies up to potential bankrupcy through possibility of being sued by all survivors and next of kin.
Smith saw the intercepted message as extremely suspicious and took immediate action. He traveled by train to New York and upon arrival, served a total of 20 subpoenas upon Ismay and Titanic crew, requiring them to appear at recently scheduled hearings to be held the next morning, April 19th, at the New York Waldorf-Astoria.
