International Ice Patrol Marking Titanic Centennial

The is marking the centennial of the sinking of the RMS Titanic with a wreath drop and several other events this month.

The International Ice Patrol says several vessels were damaged or sunk due to collisions with icebergs in the North Atlantic, but it was the Titanic tragedy that led to the formation of the service to monitor the hazards and report them to ships.

The passenger vessel struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southhampton, England to New York City and sank early in the morning of April 15, 1912. Approximately 1,500 lives were lost.

At 10 a.m. on Tuesday, a memorial wreath will be dedicated at U.S. Coast Guard Base Boston. This event will include remarks from the First District commander of the Coast Guard as well as the presentation of wreaths and rose petals from the Titanic Historical Society and Titanic International Society.

At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, the wreaths and materials will be at the Groton-New London Airport with the C-130 aircraft used for patrols and its crew out of U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City.

Sometime on the anniversary of the collision or the sinking, the plane will drop the wreath over the site of the Titanic's sinking, while the Canadian Ice Service and Coast Guard cutter Juniper will drop the rose petals on the site.

In addition, commemoration activities have been scheduled in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia for April 13 and 14. At 11 a.m. on April 21, the Titanic Historical Society will unveil a centennial memorial at Oak Grove Cemetery in Springfield, Mass.

The task of monitoring icebergs was first done by the Navy before it was transferred to the Coast Guard, which also coordinates with the Canadian Ice Service. , chief scientist with the International Ice Patrol, no ships that have heeded the service's directions have been lost or damaged since the formation of the International Ice Patrol.

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