Berthon Boat

After the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, the first time a large passenger ship had actually been sunk by an iceberg, the White Star Line's owner, Bruce Ismay, instructed that every passenger boat under his control would thereafter be fitted with sufficient lifeboats for all and the first of those to be fitted was the Olympic by April 24.

The Berthon boats built for this purpose had double linings of canvas, sectioned in two watertight envelopes that assisted buoyancy and gave protection from the possibility that the canvas could be accidentally torn.

Another innovative deck feature was to become the raft, a more exposed, but compact buoyancy aid, still built of wood, and supported by four long tanks. Such a sufficiency of life craft was deemed required as to make hazardous the deck area. Despite the risk it was decided to reduce the general amount of Lifeboats to a level that gave clear access to the decks and that a degree of risk was expected to be taken by the passengers on their own behalf.

In his speech at the close of the Titanic inquiry the Attorney General raised the question of the greater need for life saving devices at sea, including Lifeboat accommodation, so that regulations might be made which would ‘apply to the vessels of all countries’. Had more lifeboats been available there would have been sufficient support vessels already en route to collect and rescue all of the Titanic's 2,200 passengers.