Belfast is often referred to as “titanic city“and there are very good reasons for it. No other place in the world can claim a better association with the most famous ship ever built. She was designed, built and built at the Belfast shipyard and made her maiden voyage on April 10, 1912. At that time it was hailed as the new wonder of the world and few people knew what awaited it.
Belfast during 1909 was one of the largest ports in the world and Harland and Wolff was known as one of the best shipbuilders in the world. They had a highly skilled workforce and were recognized as top quality people who delivered a high quality product. Therefore, the Titanic was built to these exacting standards and at the time she was the ultimate in luxury and technological innovation.
RMS Titanic boasted over five miles of decks and came with a swimming pool and squash courts and remember this was less than a hundred years ago. For those of you who like a little detail, the Titanic’s yard number was SS401 and she was built on slipway number three. The keel was laid in March 1909 and she had 29 boilers with her bow anchor weighing almost 16 tons. More than three million rivets were used to make the Titanic.
The launch of the Titanic took a full 62 seconds when it departed on April 2, 1912. The Titanic struck an iceberg on Sunday, April 14, 1912 at around 11:40 p.m. and sank at 2:20 a.m. on Monday, April 15. April 1912. There were 2,228 people on board. and only enough lifeboats to carry 1,178 people. The Titanic now sits at nearly 13,000 feet at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
For many years, Belfast did nothing to promote the fact that the Titanic was built here, but in recent months and probably due to its centenary, great efforts have been made to start a renaissance so that local people and visitors can Come and see the place where the Titanic was born. This revival is also partly explained by the huge popularity of the Hollywood movie and the associated song.
Life is now rapidly returning to Queen’s Island in Belfast and home to the famous shipbuilders Harland and Wolff. Just over £7bn is being invested in the Titanic Quarter. Titanic’s little brother, the SS Nomadic, has now returned to Belfast and is in the process of being restored to her former glory. The centenary of the Titanic in 2012 will be celebrated in and around this redeveloped Titanic Quarter and there will be a visitor center with many galleries telling Belfast’s history as a city of maritime importance.
In recent months, the Titanic Pump House and Titanic Royal Dock have been restored and are now regularly visited by locals and visitors alike. The current cost to do this is £5. There are also a variety of Titanic tours that can be taken on foot, by bus or by boat on the River Lagan. The average price for these is between £8-10, but it depends on how you would like to take your visit. The most expensive tour I’ve ever seen is £25 but it covers all aspects of the Titanic and is very detailed and lengthy. Family and concession ticket prices are also available.
The two large yellow gantry cranes, Samson and Goliath, dominate the shipyard landscape, but are not accessible to the public for health and safety reasons. However, there are still many ways to see and get a sense of what it must have been like around 1912, when the Titanic was built and set off on her maiden voyage.
Plans are currently underway to develop the Titanic Quarter in Belfast so that the centenary can be celebrated and visitors to our city can see the exact spot where this magnificent ship was built.