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Politics20 January 1914

International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea

Also called: SOLAS, International Ice Patrol

After inquiries by the US Senate and in Britain, the first International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) was signed in London on 20 January 1914, requiring lifeboats for all, round-the-clock radio watch and a North Atlantic ice patrol.

The US Senate inquiry into the Titanic disaster, Waldorf-Astoria, New York, April 1912
The US Senate inquiry into the Titanic disaster, Waldorf-Astoria, New York, April 1912

Louis F. Grant · Public domain · Source

Five days after the sinking, on 19 April 1912, the US Senate opened hearings in New York with survivors and crew; in May the British Board of Trade inquiry followed in London. Both pointed to speed kept up despite ice warnings, too few lifeboats, and Californian nearby with her radio off.

On 20 January 1914 thirteen nations signed the first SOLAS convention in London: lifeboats and drills for everyone aboard, a 24-hour radio watch on passenger ships, and an International Ice Patrol to watch for icebergs on the North Atlantic lanes. The patrol, run by the US Coast Guard, still surveys the ice every spring.

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The map in 1914

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States and rulers at the time
Great Britain · host
United States · signatory — President Woodrow Wilson
Places
London, Washington, D.C.

Before and after

Earlier
1912 Carpathia’s rescue
Later
1985 Discovery of the Titanic wreck

Themes that include this event

  • The Titanic1911 – 1985

    From the launch of the “unsinkable” ship to her maiden voyage, the iceberg, Carpathia’s rescue, the convention that changed the rules of the sea, and the wreck found on the Atlantic floor more than seventy years later