There were 20 lifeboats on board the Titanic when it sailed on its maiden voyage in April 1912.
The boats consisted of 14 standard wooden lifeboats, two wooden cutters, and four collapsible boats with wooden floors and canvas sides. Together, they were designed to hold 1,178 people—only slightly more than half of the approximately 2,209 passengers and crew aboard.
The Titanic’s lifeboat capacity was technically compliant with British regulations, which based requirements on the ship’s tonnage rather than the number of people aboard. The ship’s designers had also planned for additional boats, but these were not installed because the crowded deck was considered unattractive and difficult to navigate.
A common mix-up is to say that 20 boats were successfully launched. In fact, 18 were launched or floated away during the sinking; collapsible Boats A and B became separated from the ship as it went down. Many of the launched boats also left with empty seats.