Lightoller believed that it would be impossible to fill the boats to capacity before lowering them to sea without the mechanism that held them collapsing. When questioned about the filling of lifeboat number six, Lightoller testified that the boat was filled with as many people as he considered to be safe. They had been tested n Belfast on 25th March 1912 and each boat had carried seventy men safely.

The boat was designed to carry 32 lifeboats but this number was reduced to 20 because it was felt that the deck would be too cluttered.ДЄt the British investigation, Charles Lightoller as the senior surviving officer was questioned about the fact that the lifeboats were not filled to capacity. TitanicвЂ™s lifeboats were situated on the top deck. The existing Board of Trade required a passenger ship to provide lifeboat capacity for 1060 people. The Titanic carried 20 lifeboats, enough for 1178 people. He believed that if there had been fewer lifeboats then more people would have rushed to the boats and they would have been filled to capacity thus saving more people. Sir Alfred also stated that he felt that if there had been fewer lifeboats on Titanic then more people would have been saved.

That it would be impossible for crew members to be able to load more than sixteen boats in the event of a disaster.That the provision of lifeboats should be a matter for the ship owners to consider. Sir Alfred gave a number of reasons for this (question 22875):Дue to advancements that had been made in shipbuilding it was not necessary for boats to carry more lifeboats.vThe latest boats were stronger than ever and had watertight compartments making them unlikely to require lifeboats at all.vSea routes used were well-travelled meaning that the likelihood of a collision was minimal.vThe latest boats were fitted with wireless technology. At the British Inquiry into the Titanic disaster Sir Alfred Chalmers of the Board of Trade was asked why regulations governing the number of lifeboats required on passenger ships had not been updated since 1896.

Titanic lifeboat photos