Had Titanic officer twisted facts about iceberg collision to avoid negligence claims?

Insurance documents filed after the sinking of the Titanic have revealed that an officer that survived the accident had twisted facts about the iceberg collision to evade negligence claims.

Second officer Charles Lightoller had said at the time that when the lookouts reported ice dead ahead, the first officer immediately starboarded the helm, but the 46,000-ton ship struck a small low-lying iceberg, making a comparatively slight jar, the Mirror reported.

But, a new study into the claims has revealed that the iceberg was in fact 100ft high by 400ft wide and the ship was speeding through an icefield at night.

The crew had also failed to spot it in time.

Lightoller's 'played down' facts won the ship's owners, the White Star Line, a 5 million dollar insurance payout.