RMS Titanic and for the ship's operational use. Although "Titanic" had advanced safety features such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, it only carried enough lifeboats for 1,178 people—about half the number on board, and one third of her total capacity—due to outdated maritime safety regulations. The ship carried 16 lifeboat davits which could lower three lifeboats each, for a total of 48 boats. However, "Titanic" carried only a total of 20 lifeboats, four of which were collapsible and proved hard to launch during the sinking. After leaving Southampton on 10 April 1912, "Titanic" called at Cherbourg in France and
History of the Port of Southampton and facilities for luggage and ships' stores. The Ocean Terminal was demolished in 1983. The Queen Elizabeth II passenger terminal was opened in 1966 to augment (and replace) it, which remains in regular use. That terminal in turn is augmented by the 2009 Ocean Terminal, across the dock from the old. The inter-war period was a busy time for the port, which was called the "Gateway to the Empire". In 1936, the Southampton docks handled 46 percent of the UK's ocean-going passenger traffic. The following facts and figures are from the 1938 "Handbook to Southampton Docks": Southampton also handled a