Page 129 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 23 - 26

board. That does not follow at all. But, if according to their tonnage they had to carry more than would be required for the full number of persons on board, then to that extent there is a dispensation that the number would be reduced so as to cover sufficient boats only for the number of persons carried. That limitation there is, but you will not find in the German Regulations, I think, that there is a requirement to this effect - that there shall be a sufficient number carried for all the passengers on board. The standard is the tonnage - in the same way as it is with us, as your Lordship will remember, and not the number of passengers. As you will find from some figures that I am going to give you, you will see that they do not carry sufficient - I will not say that in some cases they may not - but generally speaking from those we have examined they do not carry sufficient to accommodate all on board. That is how it stands. I have had a table prepared which will be proved a little later on, which will show your Lordship what the percentage was before the “Titanic” disaster and what the percentage is after the “Titanic” disaster, in the German requirements. Mr. Scanlan: Your Lordship will also have in view the American regulation for lifeboats required on ocean steamers; it is, “11: Each and every steamer” - The Commissioner: Are these the ex post facto regulations? Mr. Scanlan: Yes, my Lord. The Attorney-General: That is after the disaster. Mr. Scanlan: Any regulations made by your Lordship will necessarily be - The Commissioner: I shall not make any regulations at all. I think those American requirements came into existence about a fortnight after the “Titanic” disaster. Mr. Scanlan: That is so, my Lord, on the 24th April. The Attorney-General: You have not had time to see the memorandum we have prepared, but it might be useful, my Lord, if you looked at page 37 of this proof that we have handed up. I have not examined the figures in detail yet. You will see there details as to “Foreign requirements as to boats. Note of the foreign requirements as to boats, etc., on passenger steamers. The annexed Table enables a comparison to be made between the British, French, American and German requirements as to boats and rafts on passenger steamers of 10,000 tons and upwards.” And then it states what the requirements are. Then if you turn over to page 38 you will see there the requirements given in a comparative Table. The Germans are worked out on a cubic metre capacity. We have translated that into tons so as to get the same English unit. If you look, for example, at the very bottom of the page, you will see what I mean - the last figure. The Commissioner: Where you convert it into English units. The Attorney-General: Yes. The last figure - which is for Germany - is 45,942, and up to 49,476 tons - that is our unit - and for that the cubic capacity would be 21,328. Then that is doubled according to the additional craft, collapsibles and rafts, that may be required, which would be 42,656. The actual figure, if your Lordship will remember, is between the one just above that. If you look at the one just above that in the extreme right-hand column, you will find the figure of 39,830. The Commissioner: What is that figure? The Attorney-General: That represents the cubic capacity for which boat accommodation would have to be provided according to the German requirements without making any allowance for efficient watertight compartments. They have the same Rule as we have - Rule 12, on page 16. The Commissioner: That is important. The Attorney-General: That gives you this: 19,915 cubic feet would be required for vessels under davits for a vessel of the tonnage of the “Titanic” according to German law. Then you must double that in order to get the total of the boats required under davits - and what they call the supplemental craft and collapsibles, rafts, etc., which have to be provided. That gives you the figure of 39,830. The Commissioner: What was the tonnage of the “Titanic”? The Attorney-General: There has been just a little discussion about that. We have worked it out at one time as 45,600, but I am told it is 46,000, and, if it is 46,000, you have to take the last line.