A time to remember the Titanic

At the moment, the best way to appreciate Belfast’s role in the story is to peer into a long, deep hole in the city’s once thriving shipyards. The hole in question is the Thompson Graving Dock, where the Titanic was fitted out. Back then, Belfast was a world leader in shipbuilding, with 176 vessels launched in the first decade of the 20th Century alone. For 70 years, the sinking of the Titanic was a source of shame for the city – until it was proven that the fault was human, not mechanical. Now it’s a part of Belfast’s history that people are keen to celebrate once more.
I stood on the dock by the original yellow squat capstan – around which a cable was wound to drag the ship – and imagined the vast vessel edging forward until it towered over my little head. Alongside is the pump house, where I viewed a pump that emptied water out of the dock at a rate so speedy that it was measured in swimming pools per minute.
A £97m Titanic Built in Belfast attraction is scheduled to open near the dock in April 2012. Its design mimics the brow of the ship, and it should prove to be a signature attraction in Belfast’s Until recently, the city has tended not to make much play of its role in the story – but, this year, several exhibitions have commemorated the building of the ship. In 2012, Belfast can expect anniversary interest to be fevered: a Titanic Memorial Cruise – taking passengers across the Atlantic to pass over the wreck site on 15 April, 100 years to the day after the disaster – sold out months ago.