Titanic: Journey to the bottom of the ocean

At 11.40pm on Sunday 14 April 1912 - 100 years ago - the Titanic was just a few days into its maiden voyage when a lookout delivered the fateful message: "Iceberg, right ahead".

Moments later, the passenger liner struck the iceberg, tearing a series of holes in its hull. Within three hours, the ship would be resting at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, at a cost of 1,517 lives.

How Events took Place?

11.40pm - Titanic hits iceberg

Within minutes of the collision, the ship has taken on thousands of tonnes of seawater. The vessel's architect, Thomas Andrews, inspects the damage and determines that five of the ship's 16 watertight compartments are flooding and that it will sink.

12.30am - Lifeboats are lowered

Captain Edward J Smith issues instructions to launch the lifeboats. At 12.40am, the first is launched, with women and children boarding first. Although there are enough for more than 1,000 people, many are lowered into the water half full.

2.10am - Ship's lights go out

Titanic's bow becomes completely submerged and the stern begins to lift out of the water. Eighteen of the 20 lifeboats have so far been launched and the ship's lights finally go out.

2.17am - Titanic breaks in two

The stern steadily rises out of the sea, revealing the ship's three huge propellers. The hull is unable to withstand the enormous strain and snaps between the third and fourth funnels.

2.19am - Bow begins to sink

The bow disappears beneath the waves and begins its descent. The stern remains on the surface, but it rapidly begins to sink as water rushes into the engine rooms.

2.20am - Stern corkscrews to sea bed

The stern fills with water and lurches forward, then rears up and begins to plummet, spilling the ship's cargo. It quickly picks up speed and begins to corkscrew to the sea bed.

2.22am - Bow reaches ocean floor

The bow glides towards the bottom, reaching speeds of between 25mph and 40mph (40-64kph). It eventually ploughs into the sea bed, causing the hull to buckle on impact.

2.24am - Wreck comes to rest

The stern reaches speeds of 60mph (96kph), slamming into the sea bed propellers first, about 2,000ft (600m) away from the bow. The hull bends and cracks along its entire length. The decks collapse from the impact of the following slipstream of water.

Some of the Important Factors 

The wreck of the Titanic remains at the bottom of the Atlantic, where it is disintegrating at a depth of almost 4,000m. 

Depth Scale


40-50m - Limit for scuba divers


2,000m2,438 (8,000ft)
Maximum depth sunlight penetrates 


3,000m
Operating depth of the oil rig Deepwater Horizon 


4,000m Sea bed