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The chartered cable ship CS Mackay-Bennett departed Halifax on April 17, 1912, equipped with 125 coffins and embalming chemicals for only 70 bodies—a gross miscalculation. Upon reaching the debris field, they recovered 337 victims. Maritime health regulations dictated only embalmed bodies could be brought to port. Facing impossible numbers, the crew, under orders, prioritized embalming first-class passengers. Their identification was deemed legally urgent to settle vast estates and wills. In sta