One hundred years on from the sinking of RMS Titanic we are reminded of the continuing perils of the sea with the recent with the Costa Concordia

Both incidents involved loss of life, with friends and families waiting anxiously for news of their lovedones. Then and now, the public at large found it unimaginable that a vast, state-of-the-art passenger vessel could fail to detect – and then be wrecked by – an inert object in its path.

Although far outside the RNLI’s ring of safety around the UK and RoI, these disasters are of great significance to the charity’s work of saving lives at sea worldwide (see page 8). And we have some surprising direct connections with Titanic.

Our Headquarters library holds an original letter (right) by Titanic Stewardess Mary Kezia Roberts that she wrote to her husband 2 days before the ship hit the iceberg. She was lucky enough be among the 712 survivors – 1,495 perished*.

A couple of years later Kezia was working aboard the hospital ship Rohilla when it too met disaster, sinking off Whitby. Incredibly, she survived again – along with 228 others who were saved by six RNLI lifeboats.

The Countess of Rothes, Lucy Noël Martha, was a Titanic survivor from the other end of the social spectrum. Her father was so relieved by her safe return that he funded a new RNLI lifeboat for Fraserburgh.

The legendary tale of the Titanic and the unfolding story of the Costa Concordia hold a fascination for many.

In 1985, Titanic’s remains were located 3,800m down, after a search of 12 years by a team led by Dr Robert Ballard. Poignant artefacts include jewellery, clothing and crockery, some of which are to be exhibited this year in Belfast, Liverpool, Southampton and the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Memorial cruises will follow the White Star liner’s ill-fated route, even visiting the site of the infamous berg.

Yet cruise ships remain one of the safest ways to travel. Each, rare, incident goes on to inform better boat design and safety procedures and the RNLI is right there, working at local, national and international levels. Our researchers and engineers tackle both technical and human issues to help make our maritime activities the safest they can be.