Before embarking on its tragic maiden voyage, the Titanic should have been equipped with 50% more lifeboats, according to newly disclosed documents from the ship’s safety officer.

But the officer, Maurice Clarke, decided not to press the issue with the Titanic’s owners because he feared that to do so would have cost him his job.

This revelation came to light after Clarke’s handwritten inspection notes went on sale at auction in England.

Clarke said in his notes that the ship had 20 lifeboats onboard, which was the legal minimum capable of carrying 1,178 passengers. But really the ship should have had at least 30 lifeboats, representing a 50% increase, or even 40 boats, which would have doubled the total.

To add another 20 boats would have cost more money and possibly delayed the ship’s departure, which would have been unacceptable to the owners, according to the safety officer.

Five hours before the Titanic was to embark on its voyage, Clarke recommended upping the total to 30 boats, but did not insist on it after he was advised that doing so would mean losing his job.

If the Titanic had had 30 lifeboats, there would have been enough room for 1,767 passengers to safely escape, which was more than the total number of people aboard.

As it turned out, only 706 passengers and crew made it into the boats, while 1,522 people died on April 15, 1912, after the ship struck an iceberg.

During the inquiry that followed the disaster, Clarke did not reveal his earlier concerns about the lifeboats.

–Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

Titanic Safety Officer Warned Ship Needed “50 Per Cent More Lifeboats” (The Telegraph)

Titanic Needed “50% More Lifeboats” and Had Just SIX Life Buoys as New Documents Reveal Astonishing Cover-up of Safety Warnings (by Martin Robinson, Daily Mail)