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carried enough lifeboats for 1,178 people—about half the number on board, and one third of her total capacity—due to outdated maritime safety regulations.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
RMS Titanic take the sudden strain and snapped, swinging her around stern-first towards "Titanic". A nearby tugboat, "Vulcan", came to the rescue by taking "New York" under tow, and Captain Smith ordered "Titanic"s engines to be put "full astern". The two ships avoided a collision by a matter of about . The incident delayed "Titanic"s departure for about an hour, while the drifting "New York" was brought under control. After making it safely through the complex tides and channels of Southampton Water and the Solent, "Titanic" disembarked the Southampton pilot at the Nab Lightship and headed out into the English Channel. She