Article - Speed of Liners. Article about the "Speed of the Great Liners: A factor which makes head lights and other precautions Necessary". Illustration shows the positions of a vessel steaming at full speed (22 knots) in 30 seconds, demonstrating how quickly a collision with an iceberg could happen. The ship travels one and a quarter times her own length in half a minute. Titanic was built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast Ireland during 1910 - 1911 and later sank on April 15th, 1912 after striking an iceberg off the coast of New Foundland during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York, USA, with the loss of 1,522 passengers and crew.