The Aftermath, Part I

After the disaster that sunk the RMS Titanic, the British lead an official inquiry to determine what had gone so horribly wrong. Sir Alfred Chalmers of the Board of Trade was asked to justify the regulations that had been in place on the night of April 12 when the 1,517 passengers on board met their doom.

The British government wanted to be certain that this kind of maritime disaster wouldn’t happen again: it was a national tragedy that personally traumatized citizens from 44 different countries, horrified the public, and embarrassed the White Star Line as well as everyone involved in maritime legislation.

As it turns out, the regulations for lifeboats required on passenger ships hadn’t been updated since 1896. Chalmers attempted to justify this policy massive failure by giving the following reasons:

Since the original policy’s implementation in 1896, advancements in shipbuilding made adding lifeboat requirements unnecessary.

The latest boats, like the RMS Titanic, were considered virtually impenetrable and watertight, making them unlikely to require lifeboats at all.

The sea routes used were well travelled, meaning that the likelihood of a collision was minimal.

The latest boats were fitted with wireless technology, which meant they could communicate with surrounding ships in an emergency. 

Even if there were more lifeboats available, crew members might not have been able to load more than sixteen boats during a disaster.

The provision of lifeboats should be determined by the ship builders, not the Board of Trade.

Quick to defend himself and divorce himself from any blame, Chalmers came up with an even more preposterous explanation — he claimed that even fewer lifeboats would have saved lives. He reasoned that people would have panicked and rushed to the deck to try to find escape instead of waiting in their warm rooms for instructions.

Read more Titanic on our Stories From The Titanic blog...