Lifeboats played a crucial role during the sinking of the Titanic on 14–15 April 1912. The ship had 20 lifeboats that, in total, could accommodate 1,178 people, a little over half of the 2,209 on board the night it sank.
The Titanic's Collapsible Boat D approaches RMS Carpathia at 7:15 am on 15 April 1912.
The Titanic, showing eight lifeboats along the starboard-side boat deck (upper deck): four lifeboats near the bridge wheel house and four lifeboats near the 4th funnel.
Titanic's wooden lifeboats in New York Harbor following the disaster. This particular image has been doctored to add the words "R.M.S. Titanic".[citation needed] The lifeboats bore the name "S.S. Titanic" on a plaque mounted at the other end of the boat.
Arrangement of lifeboats on the forward part of the Boat Deck of Titanic, shown on a large-scale model of the ship
A lifeboat or liferaft is a small, rigid or inflatable boat carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard a ship. Lifeboat drills are required by law on larger commercial ships. Rafts (liferafts) are also used. In the military, a lifeboat may double as a whaleboat, dinghy, or gig. The ship's tenders of cruise ships often double as lifeboats. Recreational sailors usually carry inflatable liferafts, though a few prefer small proactive lifeboats that are harder to sink and can be sailed to safety.
Partially enclosed lifeboats on a passenger liner
Proactive lifeboat-safety dinghy for recreational cruisers
Lifeboats at shore shortly after the Costa Concordia capsized on the coast of Isola del Giglio
An image depicting the sinking of RMS Titanic surrounded by lifeboats
