Modern advances in technology and highly coordinated safety systems have successfully reduced the frequency of major accidents in the marine industry. Has this decrease in frequency come at a cost? The myth of an “unsinkable” ship went down with the Titanic and yet accidents resulting in loss of life still occur. On occasion the control measures put in place to mitigate against disaster are not sufficient due to reliance on human factors or technology which may not be available after the accident. This paper discusses the issues caused by the focus on pre-accident mitigation and scenarios deemed too implausible by hazard identification techniques.