Titanic's Lifeboats After Sinking: Uncovering the Lifeboat Shortage Story
- Gwen Alexander
- 18 hours ago
- 3 min read
Why weren’t there enough lifeboats? Surely, there were regulations which said all ships must have enough lifeboats for all passengers and crew on the ship. Well, there were regulations which governed the number of lifeboats, but they didn’t say there had to be enough for everyone.
The Merchant Shipping Act of 1894 stated that ships over 10,000 tons have a minimum of 16 lifeboats. This was the act in place when Titanic was designed and built. It didn’t matter how many passengers and crew were on board. These regulations were established in 1894 and weren’t updated until after the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 that there shall be enough lifeboats for all passengers and crew.
How Many Lifeboats Were on the Titanic
The Titanic had a gross tonnage of 46, 328. When the ship was fully laden, the ship had an actual weight of 52,310. In 1912, the ship would be required to have at least 16 lifeboats; it had 20 lifeboats. This consisted of 14 standard wooden boats which could fit 65 people each, 2 emergency cutters which could hold 40 people each and 4 collapsible canvas-sided boats which could hold 47 people each. The lifeboats could hold a total of 1,178. The total capacity of the ship was 3,320 people. On the Titanic’s maiden voyage, there was an estimated 2,240 passengers and crew.
Why Didn’t the Passengers Get In the Lifeboats
As mentioned previously, the Titanic had more than the number of lifeboats legally required. You would think it would have been practical to have space in each lifeboat for everyone on the ship. You may have heard it said the Titanic was unsinkable. Some accounts say it was virtually unsinkable. One of the safety features Titanic had were watertight compartments separated by bulkheads and fitted with sliding doors. The doors could be closed from the bridge of the ship in case of emergency. The ship would be able to stay afloat until help could arrive. The Titanic could have stayed afloat with up to four compartments flooded. On the night it struck the iceberg, the first five of the compartments were flooded. Another safety feature was the Marconi wireless. Help could be called for by a Marconi Wireless Operator. It was hoped the ship would stay afloat long enough for help to arrive; the lifeboats would have been used to ferry passengers and crew to another ship. Also, since Titanic was unsinkable (or virtually unsinkable), many of the passengers didn’t want to get into a lifeboat in the cold night.
The lifeboats had to be lowered into the water more than 70 feet above the sea. It also depended on what side of the ship you were on as it was sinking.
Where Are the Titanic Lifeboats Today
Thirteen of the twenty lifeboats were recovered by the RMS Carpathia on April 18, 1912 (this was the ship which rescued the survivors). The lifeboats were brough to New York and stored at Pier 59. It is though these were stripped of their fittings by souvenir hunters. Some may have been repurposed by the White Star Line and some abandoned at sea.
Lifeboats On Ships Today
After the Titanic sinking, the British Board of Trade updated the regulations to require all passenger ships to carry enough lifeboats for everyone on board. The regulations also called for stricter safety drills. It is unfortunate, so many had to lose their life in order for the laws to be updated.