Titanic carried 2,224 people but had stated lifeboat capacity for 1,178. Carlisle's plan could have provided room for still more. Ship size and technology had advanced much faster than rules written for an earlier generation of vessels. International rules can spend roughly twelve years moving through evidence gathering, negotiation, and adoption, leaving a new standard rooted in much older technology. Extra boats and early life rafts would have imposed design costs and reduced promenade space, but they were technically possible choices. Companies are structured to serve investors within the law, while liability and insurance make the legal boundary commercially important. Governments therefore cannot assume commercial incentives will voluntarily repair obsolete minimum standards.
Chapter · 12:08-18:18
When lifeboat rules lag behind ship size
Titanic met the letter of older safety rules, but those rules no longer matched the scale of passengers carried by modern liners.
Alexander CarlisleCorporate LiabilityFiduciary DutyInsuranceInternational Maritime RegulationLife RaftsLifeboatsMaritime LawMaritime RegulationMaritime SafetyMass EvacuationOcean LinersPassenger SafetyPassenger ShipsRegulatory ComplianceRegulatory LagRMS TitanicShip CapacityTechnological ChangeWhite Star Line