00:00In 1912, the Titanic was called unsinkable.
00:04But one of the biggest tragedies in maritime history wasn't just the iceberg.
00:08It was a decision made long before the ship even set sail, to cut down on lifeboats.
00:14Why would such a luxurious, state-of-the-art ship carry lifeboats for barely half its passengers?
00:20Today, we uncover the shocking story of cost-cutting, arrogance, and how it doomed over 1,500 souls that night.
00:29The Titanic was the pride of the White Star Line, a floating palace designed to dominate the transatlantic market.
00:36At 882 feet long, with swimming pools, opulent dining rooms, and first-class suites fit for royalty, Titanic was more than just a ship.
00:46It was a statement.
00:48But while millions were spent on luxury, lifeboats, they were treated as an afterthought.
00:53The ship could carry over 2,200 passengers and crew, yet it only had 20 lifeboats, enough for about 1,178 people.
01:04So, why so few lifeboats?
01:07The answer lies in outdated laws.
01:10British Board of Trade Regulations in 1912 required ships over 10,000 tons to carry just 16 lifeboats, no matter how big the ship was.
01:19Titanic weighed over 46,000 tons, more than four times that threshold, but legally, she was compliant.
01:28White Star Line added four extra boats for safety, but never enough for everyone on board.
01:34It wasn't just law, it was attitude.
01:36Lifeboats were seen as a means to ferry passengers to rescue ships, not to save everyone at once.
01:42Interestingly, Titanic's chief designer, Alexander Carlyle, originally planned 64 lifeboats.
01:50That would have saved nearly everyone on board.
01:53But White Star Line management rejected the idea.
01:56Why?
01:57More boats would clutter the beautiful open decks.
02:00And extra lifeboats meant more cost, more maintenance, and believe it or not,
02:04they thought too many lifeboats might scare passengers, making them think the ship wasn't truly safe.
02:10This was a fatal combination of vanity and economics.
02:15At 11.40pm, April 14th, Titanic struck an iceberg.
02:20By 12.05am, lifeboats were being prepared.
02:24But there was a new problem.
02:26Many weren't filled to capacity.
02:28Some early boats left with barely 30 people aboard, half empty,
02:33because crew were untrained and passengers didn't believe the ship was sinking.
02:37When the last boat left at 2.05am, over 1,500 people remained on board with no way out.
02:45The few lifeboats that did launch weren't enough to go back and save those in the freezing Atlantic.
02:50By the time some returned, most were already gone.
02:54The world was outraged.
02:56The Titanic disaster forced a complete overhaul of maritime safety.
03:00New laws required enough lifeboats for everyone on board, mandatory lifeboat drills, and round-the-clock radio watch.
03:09But these changes came too late for those lost in 1912.
03:13The Titanic's luxury came at the cost of human lives,
03:16lives that could have been saved for a fraction of the ship's budget.
03:20The Titanic didn't just sink because of an iceberg.
03:23It sank because of human arrogance, misplaced priorities, and a refusal to prepare for the unthinkable.
03:30The next time you see those iconic images of the ship, remember this.
03:34The real tragedy wasn't that Titanic sank.
03:37It's that hundreds never had a chance to survive.
03:41If you found this story eye-opening, hit like, subscribe,
03:44and let us know what other historical secrets you'd like us to uncover.
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