‘Proceed to the assistance of the persons in distress’: The sinking of the Titanic and the international regulation of safety of life at sea
Abstract
The International Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) was first drafted in response to the sinking of the Titanic . The 1914 convention sought international agreement on issues such as construction, navigation, communication, protection and rescue. The convention also formulated an obligation to ‘proceed to the assistance of the persons in distress’. The treaty has been interpreted both as imposing increased public and international responsibility at sea and as marking one of the origins of the duty to save lives at sea in international law. This article highlights how the convention in general and the obligation to come to rescue in particular can also be understood as a culmination of nineteenth-century maritime law, in which a combination of sovereignty, public responsibility, private authority and international law was typical.
Fields of Study & Subjects
International Maritime Law Issues
International Law and Human Rights
Maritime Security and History
Publication details
- Journal / source
- International Journal of Maritime History
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Volume
- 38
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 116–129
- Publication date
- 23 January 2026
- Language
- EN