<P> As the half - filled boats rowed away from the ship, they were too far for other passengers to reach, and most lifeboats did not return to the wreck, due to protests from passengers or crewmen to prevent being swamped by drowning victims . Only two lifeboats returned to retrieve survivors from the water, some of whom later died . </P> <P> RMS Carpathia did not reach the lifeboats until 4 a.m., two hours after Titanic sank to the bottom of the sea, and the rescue continued until the last lifeboat was collected at 8: 30 a.m. The survivors among the men were relatively more crewmen, then more First Class and Third Class, with 92% of men dying from Second Class . However, the third - class women and children also died in relatively high numbers, with 66% of those children dying . </P> <P> Although the sinking showed the number of lifeboats insufficient, Titanic was in compliance with maritime safety regulations of the time (albeit the Titanic disaster proved the regulations outdated for such large passenger ships). The Inquiry also revealed White Star Line wanted fewer boats on the decks, to provide unobstructed views for passengers and give the ship more aesthetics from an exterior view . </P> <P> It was also thought in the event of an emergency, Titanic's design would enable her to stay afloat long enough for her passengers and crew to be transferred safely to a rescue vessel . It was never anticipated that all passengers and crew would be evacuated rapidly at the same time . </P>

Why was there only 20 lifeboats on the titanic