RMS "TITANIC" Reappraisal of Evidence Relating to SS "Californian"
Marine Accident Investigation Branch
Publisher: Her Majesty's Stationary Office, London
ISBN: 0-11-551111-3
Binding: Softback
Pages: 24
Price: £8
Published in March 1992, this reappraisal of the role of the Californian in the disaster
was ordered by The Right Honourable Cecil Parkinson MP, who had been Secretary of State for Transport.
The report begins with a letter written to the then Secretary of State for Transport Malcolm Rifkind,
and gives a brief outline of how the investigation was undertaken. The first leg was the
work of a recently retired Principal Nautical Surveyor who was an experienced Master
Mariner. However Captain P B Marriott, the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents did
not fully agree with the findings and ordered a second investigation by the Deputy Chief Inspector
of Marine Accidents, whose report makes up the body of this slim publication. It also encompasses
some of the work of the original Inspector.
The publication is worth buying if you have an interest in the issue of the Californian and the role it played in the disaster. If not, you may find your £8 spent better elsewhere.
