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Failure to Update the Law a Titanic Mistake

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With all the news this week surrounding the 100th anniversary of the sailing (and, of course, sinking) of the RMS Titanic in April 1912, I’m sure everyone has read or seen at least something related to this event.  However, if you really want to learn about the disaster from different perspectives and get a sense about some of the historical materials available, you don’t need to look further than the Library of Congress Blog and other Library blogs that have published posts about the Titanic: In The Muse (performing arts), Picture This (prints and photographs), From the Catbird Seat (poetry and literature), and Teaching with the Library of Congress.  (Update: Inside Adams (science, technology, and business) has also published a post relating to the Titanic.)

Of course, we here at In Custodia Legis think that the legal angle is particularly interesting!  There are multiple legal aspects that might be examined in relation to the Titanic, so I decided to just look at the regulations and requirements that applied to the safety equipment on board, particularly the lifeboats.

The fact that there were not enough lifeboats for everyone on board the Titanic, and that those that were available were not fully utilized, is well-known.  What I learned in researching this post is that the number of boats was actually in compliance with the relevant UK laws that were in place at the time.

The Merchant Shipping Act 1894 and Merchant Shipping Act 1906 were both in effect in April 1912.  A table specifying requirements relating to life-saving appliances was issued in 1894 in accordance with section 427 of the 1894 Act.  Relevant rules were also contained in the Life-Saving Appliances Rules of 1902.  It appears that the requirements were established by an advisory committee constituted under the 17th Schedule of the 1894 Act.  (You can also see some of the other interesting provisions in the schedules of this Act that may have applied to the Titanic, including those relating to accommodations and provisions for steerage passengers.)  The table and rules based the requirements for the number of lifeboats on the t