Front page headline of the Washington Times newspaper entitled: 'Liner Titanic Kept Afloat By Water Tight Compartments Being Towed into Halifax, Nova Scotia'. However, the largest ocean liner at the time was not towed back to Nova Scotia, Canada. The Titanic instead sank. During its maiden voyage it struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic on the night of 14 April 1912 and sank with the loss of 1517 lives.