Ocean liner history often looks more precise than the surviving evidence actually allows. These guides explain how Ocean Liner Curator weighs conflicting sources, separates measurements that are often confused, and decides when the responsible answer is simply “uncertain.”
Core principleEvidence outranks neatness. When reliable sources disagree, the disagreement is part of the historical record and should be explained rather than silently flattened into one convenient number or date.
Why methodology deserves its own section
Ocean liner research repeatedly encounters the same kinds of problems: different tonnage figures for the same ship, launch and service dates that appear to conflict, casualty totals revised after an event, and photographs whose date or refit phase is uncertain. A useful reference site should not merely publish conclusions; it should explain how those conclusions were reached.
Why Ocean Liner Specifications DisagreeHow refits, measurement systems, source dates, rounding, and transcription create competing figures.
Gross Tonnage Is Not WeightWhy gross tonnage measures enclosed volume rather than how heavy a ship is.
Why Maiden Voyage Dates ConflictHow delivery, positioning voyages, inaugural sailings, and route definitions produce different “first voyage” dates.
Why Casualty Totals DifferWhy early reports, passenger lists, crew counts, missing persons, and later archival work can produce different totals.
How to Identify a Refit from a PhotographUse funnels, bridge fronts, promenade enclosures, lifeboats, paint schemes, and deck structures as phase markers.
How to Distinguish Ships With the Same NameUse launch year, operator, builder, yard number, route, and chronology to separate repeated ship names.
How to Track a Renamed or Transferred LinerFollow one physical hull through changing names, owners, flags, and service identities.
Trial Speed vs Service SpeedWhy test speeds, maximum speeds, service speeds, and crossing averages are not interchangeable.
Why Passenger Capacities ChangeHow refits, class arrangements, regulations, and changing markets alter published capacities.
How to Weigh Conflicting SourcesEvaluate evidence by purpose, provenance, independence, and relevance to the specific claim.
What these pages are not
They are not attempts to make uncertainty disappear. They are practical guides to recognizing where uncertainty comes from, which kinds of evidence deserve more weight, and when a range, qualifier, or unresolved conclusion is more accurate than a single definitive-looking answer.
Curator standard: a precise claim is not automatically a strong claim. Precision is useful only when the evidence supports it.
Related project standards
- Sources — the reference framework used across the site.
- Provenance — how object and documentary histories are evaluated.
- Attribution — how uncertain identification is handled.
- AI Interpretation Policy — where interpretation stops and unsupported inference is rejected.
