13
turn. Caught off guard, the ships
collided. The Olympic was able to
limp back to port, badly wounded.
That crash is where the con-
spiracy begins.
White Star not only had a dam-
aged ship; the company was also
deemed accountable for the crash
with the Hawke. That meant
insurance wouldn’t cover repairs.
With a big ship sitting idle on
the docks bringing in no money,
White Star, the theory suggests,
made a switch.
The second ship in line, the
Titanic, was already in the works.
So, instead of having a beaten up
liner out of commission, the com-
pany slapped the Olympic name
on the new ship—the Titanic—
and the original Olympic would
be repurposed into the Titanic.
With the switch made, the
Olympic (now secretly operating
as the Titanic) could be scut-
tled in a planned accident. The
White Star Line could collect an
insurance payment, which would
benefit the new ship, all while the
Titanic (now the Olympic) would
live on. The plan seemed sound,
until it was ruined by an iceberg.
■
EVIDENCE FOR AND AGAINST
It’s not impossible that White Star
Line switched ships. But the evi-
dence that exists for that is thin.
Proponents of the theory point
to the “Titanic” not allowing public
examination prior to setting sail,
and to portholes—theorists sug-
gest that when viewing photos of
the Titanic under construction and
the ship that set sail for New York
looks suspiciously like the Olympic.
But historians are quick
to point to the facts. Titanic
researchers Steve Hall and Bruce
Beveridge, who published a book
on this subject, Titanic or Olym-
pic: Which Ship Sank?, address
the porthole question head-on.
“The Olympic,” t he y wr it e ,
“like the Titanic, was fitted orig-
inally with the same 14-porthole
arrangement on the port side of
her forecastle, but two additional
portholes were later fitted; they
were there in March 1912.”
Historian Mark Chirnside
has also devoted serious time to
the question of why, exactly, the
switch would have been made.
His key evidence is the insurance
claim for the Titanic. The ship
cost $7,500,000. It was insured
for $5,000,000.
He also adds that the shipswere not identical. The Titanic
had a unique café and enlarged
restaurant, based on what was
learned with the Olympic. Plus,
additional steel plates were fitted
to the bedplates of the Olympic’s
engines in 1911. They were still in
the correct place during inspec-
tions in the ’20s and ’30s.
Closely examined, none of the
Olympic/Titanic claims can hold
up to the phenomenal effort that
would have been necessary for
the switch. Without concrete evi-
dence, the theory fails to stand
up. The ship at the bottom of the
ocean is the actual Titanic. GETTYIMAGESLife vests save lives, but what else do you need if your boat goes down?
We called U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Brian McCrum for insight.What to Do If Your Ship Sinks
1 HAVE SIGNAL
DEVICES Search
parties will look
for anything from
flares to the light
on your sports
watch—yes, a
Coast Guard heli-
copter can spot
that. The more
devices, the better.
McCrum recom-
mends flashlights,
mirrors, whistles,
flares, retro reflec-
tive tape (which can
go on a life jacket),
and anything else
that can increase
your visibility.2 VHF CHANNEL 16
A radio on board
can save your life,
and so can channel- It's solely used
for boaters, and the
Coast Guard mon-
itors it. If you need
assistance, this is
the place to sum-
mon aid. McCrum
also recommends
having an EPIRB—
an emergency
position-indicating
radiobeacon.
Both are preferred
over a cellphone
with spotty
reception.
4 HAVE A FLOAT
PLAN Let some-
one know where
and when you’re
going. Stick to that
plan, and rescue
crews will be able
to locate you easier
if trouble arises.
The Coast Guard
actually has an
app—U.S. Coast
Guard in App Store
or Google Play—
where you can file
a float plan to detail
where you’re trav-
eling, your itinerary,
and the equipment
you have onboard.3 STAY WITH
VESSEL If you
can’t see the
shore, don’t try
to swim to safety;
stay with the ship.
Also, not all ships
will go completely
underwater. If
your hull is over-
turned and still
afloat, use it for
visibility. “Not only
will it keep you
out of cold water
longer, it’s also
bigger than you,”
McCrum says. “We
can see a boat eas-
ier than you.”50 December 2019