The keel of the titanic was laid on 31031909 at the harland amp wolff shipyard in northern ireland the liner was equipped with the ultimate in elegance and luxury for service with the noted transatlantic white star line two years later on 31051911 the titanic was launched with a length of 26904 m a beam of 2819 m and a tonnage of 46 320 grt in 1912 she was the largest ship in the world captain edward john smith transferred from her sister ship the olympic specifically for the maid