When most people think of the Titanic, they think of a massive cruise ship.
But, while it was the world’s largest passenger liner at the time in 1912, the famous ship was actually significantly smaller than the cruise ships we know today.
The Titanic was 10 decks high, 882.5ft long and 92ft beam, which is the widest part of the vessel.
Meanwhile the current largest cruise liner in the world, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, which is due to make its maiden voyage in 2024, is 20 decks high, 1197.5ft long and 213ft beam.
The Titanic was the world’s largest passenger liner at the time in 1912.Pictures from History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The Titanic was making headlines again this week, 111 years after it sank into the North Atlantic, as the first complete digital scan of the legendary shipwreck was unveiled.
Among the conversation on social media, other facts, graphics and images began to emerge, including size comparisons of the Titanic and modern cruise ships, which came as a shock to many.
One edited image on Twitter which showed the Titanic sailing in front of a huge modern day cruise ship was retweeted almost 25,000 times.
A Twitter user posted an image that shows how big the Titanic was compared to a modern day cruise ship.Twitter
The comparison was described as “wild”, “insane”, “scary” and “amazing.”
One person described the knowledge as somehow “creepy and comforting” at the same time.
“That [modern] cruise ship would have picked up the iceberg for cocktails,” joked one person.
“Between the size and climate change, them icebergs don’t stand a chance now,” wrote another.
Since the discovery of the wreckage in 1985, extensive efforts have been made to investigate the Titanic, yet images have been poor until now.
The newly unveiled digital scan provides an all-encompassing view of the ship, unveiling its complete state.
Digital scans of the Titanic at the bottom of the ocean have been unveiled.Atlantic Productions
The ship is broken into two sections, with the bow and stern separated.Atlantic Productions
It is resting at a depth of 12,467ft in the Atlantic Ocean and broken into two sections, with the bow and stern separated by approximately 2,624.5ft, enveloped by an extensive debris field.
Parks Stephenson, a prominent Titanic analyst, emphasized that the new digital model represents a crucial step towards evidence-based research, steering the Titanic’s narrative away from speculation and to factual exploration.
Source: nypost.com