The Titanic carried a total of 20 lifeboats of three different types:
- 14 standard wooden lifeboats, each designed to carry 65 people
- 2 wooden cutters, each with a capacity of 40 people
- 4 collapsible canvas lifeboats, each capable of holding 47 people
Together, these lifeboats could accommodate about 1,178 people, which was only a little over half of the approximately 2,209 people on board the night the ship sank
. The ship was actually equipped with fewer lifeboats than it could have carried-its davits could have supported up to 48 lifeboats-but the number was reduced for aesthetic reasons and because it met the outdated maritime safety regulations of the time, which based lifeboat requirements on ship tonnage rather than passenger capacity
. In summary:
- Total lifeboats: 20
- Capacity: ~1,178 people
- Types: 14 wooden lifeboats, 2 wooden cutters, 4 collapsible lifeboats
This number was insufficient for all passengers and crew, contributing to the high loss of life when the Titanic sank in 1912
