Therefore, the White Star Line actually provided more lifeboat accommodation than was legally required. At the time, the Board of Trade's regulations stated that British vessels over 10,000 tons ( Titanic was just over 46,000) must carry 16 lifeboats with a capacity of 5,500 cubic feet (160 m 3), plus enough capacity in rafts and floats for 75% (or 50% in case of a vessel with watertight bulkheads) of that in the lifeboats. However, the White Star Line decreed that only 20 lifeboats would be carried, which could accommodate about 38% of those on board when the ship was filled to capacity. Alexander Carlisle, Harland and Wolff's general manager and chairman of the managing directors, suggested that Titanic use a new, larger type of davit which could give the ship the potential to carry 48 lifeboats this would have provided enough seats for everyone on board.
