Introduction of the Titan

The narrative opens with a detailed description of the steamship Titan, the largest and most advanced vessel ever built. She is eight hundred feet long, of seventy thousand tons displacement, and equipped with every modern convenience, including two brass bands, orchestras, a theatrical company, physicians, and chaplains. Her design incorporates nineteen water-tight compartments, and it is claimed that with nine compartments flooded she would still float, making her practically unsinkable. The ship carries only twenty-four lifeboats, sufficient for five hundred people, and each berth is equipped with a cork jacket. The company announces a controversial rule: the Titan will steam at full speed in fog, storm, and sunshine, based on the reasoning that at full speed she can better withstand collisions and be more easily steered. This policy sets the stage for the impending disaster.