Eastbound: Left New York Tuesday April 11 for Gibraltar and Mediterranean ports. On April 15 at 12:25 a.m., Marconi operator Harold Cottam received Titanic 's distress call, when Carpathia was about 58 miles southeast of the position given in the call.
Captain Rostron, when notified, quickly ordered the course of "North 52 West," and Carpathia sped to the rescue, altering her course several times to avoid ice. Carpathia arrived at the scene shortly after 4 a.m. and the transfer of 706 living survivors from 20 small boats was accomplished without incident by 8:30 a.m.
After checking the immediate vicinity for survivors and leaving the recently arrived Californian at the scene, Captain Rostron set his course for New York, where the ship docked at Pier 54, North River, at 9:35 p.m. on Thursday, April 18 with Titanic 's 705 survivors.