{"id":18520,"date":"2026-04-24T08:00:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T15:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/titanicnewschannel.com\/blog\/?p=18520"},"modified":"2026-04-23T21:27:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T04:27:08","slug":"titanic-chronologyolympic-departure-delayed-over-lifeboats-24-april-1912","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/titanicnewschannel.com\/blog\/titanic-chronologyolympic-departure-delayed-over-lifeboats-24-april-1912\/","title":{"rendered":"Titanic Chronology:Olympic Departure Delayed Over Lifeboats (24 April 1912)"},"content":{"rendered":"

[This has been rewritten from 2025 with updated sources, grammar and spelling corrections.]<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
RMS Olympic Arrives In New York on Maiden Voyage, 21 June 1911
Source: U.S. Library of Commerce\/Wikimedia Commons
Public Domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The revelation that there were not enough lifeboats on Titanic led to an immediate change for the ocean liners. Up until the disaster, the general response was that putting more lifeboats aboard ships was impractical as it took away deck space. Almost immediately after Titanic sank they found room for them and proudly told passengers they could now travel in peace knowing of this.<\/p>\n

RMS Olympic, Titanic\u2019s sister ship, was scheduled to depart from Southampton on April 24, 1912. They had added 40 collapsible lifeboats they had gotten from troopships to have enough lifeboats for all passengers. However, some crew aboard Olympic were not convinced they were seaworthy. They requested they be replaced by wooden lifeboats, but this was denied. White Star said they were deemed seaworthy by a Board of Trade inspector. 284 firemen went on strike protesting the collapsible lifeboats as unsafe causing departure to be delayed. White Star hired non-union strikers to replace them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
New lifeboats being loaded on RMS Olympic, Titanic’s sister-ship
Circa 22 April 1912-25 April 1912
Author Unknown
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the following day, representatives of the strikers witnessed a test of four collapsible boats; one was found unseaworthy. The representatives said they would recommend the strikers return to work. However, a separate complaint was lodged about the non-union workers; White Star refused to fire them. 54 crew members left the ship in protest resulting in the ship’s departure being canceled. They would be all charged and convicted of mutiny, but no penalty was awarded due to the circumstances. White Star would hire them all back due to the support they had received from the public. The departure was rescheduled and Olympic would sail for New York on May 15, 1912.<\/p>\n

Sources<\/p>\n

\u201cEncylopedia Titanica.\u201d https:\/\/www.encyclopedia-titanica.org\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cRMS Olympic | Atlantic Liners.\u201d https:\/\/atlanticliners.com\/white_star_home\/olympic_home\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Edwards, John. \u201cThe Olympic Mutiny – Ocean Liners Magazine.\u201d Ocean Liners Magazine. Last modified May 3, 2020. Accessed April 23, 2026. https:\/\/oceanlinersmagazine.com\/2020\/05\/03\/olympic-mutiny-2\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Documentaries & Videos<\/p>\n

Oceanliner Designs, \u201cWhat Happened to RMS Olympic After WW1?,\u201d Video, YouTube<\/em>, June 19, 2022, https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=cKi3hkqGP8s<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nautical Study. \u201cThe Story of RMS Olympic: Titanic\u2019s Forgotten Twin.\u201d Video. YouTube, April 8, 2021. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tHcp1tYfeO0<\/a><\/p>\n

Suggested Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.]<\/p>\n

Archbold, Rick, and Dana McCauley. Last Dinner on the Titanic Menus and Recipes From the Great Liner<\/a>. Hachette Books, 1997.<\/p>\n

Behe, George TITANIC: SAFETY, SPEED AND SACRIFICE, Transportation Trails, Polo, IL 1997<\/p>\n

Behe, G. (2012). On board RMS Titanic: Memories of the Maiden Voyage<\/a>. The History Press.<\/p>\n

Behe, George. Voices From the Carpathia: Rescuing RMS Titanic<\/a>, 2015.<\/p>\n

Behe, George. The Triumvirate: Captain Edward J. Smith, Bruce Ismay, Thomas Andrews and the Sinking of Titanic.<\/a>History Press, 2024.<\/p>\n

Behe, George. Fate Deals a Hand: The Slippery Fortunes of Titanic\u2019s Professional Gamblers<\/a>. History Press, 2023.<\/p>\n

Ballard, Robert D. Exploring the Titanic.<\/a> Reprint. Madison Press Books, 2014.<\/p>\n

Ballard, Robert D., Lost Liners: From the Titanic to the Andrea Doria the Ocean Floor Reveals Its Greatest Lost Ships<\/a>(Hyperion, 1998).<\/p>\n

Brewster, H. (2013). G<\/a>ilded Lives, Fatal Voyage: The Titanic\u2019s First-Class Passengers and Their World<\/a>. National Geographic Books.<\/p>\n

Cameron, Stephen. Titanic: Belfast\u2019s Own<\/a>. Colourpoint, 2011.<\/p>\n

Eaton John P. & Haas Charles, TITANIC TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY, SECOND EDITION,<\/a> W.W. Norton & Company, New York, New York, 1995 First American Edition<\/p>\n

Fitch, Tad, J. Kent Layton, and Bill Wormstedt. On a Sea of Glass: The Life & Loss of the RMS Titanic.<\/a> Reprint. Amberley Publishing, 2015.<\/p>\n

Lord, Walter, A NIGHT TO REMEMBER<\/a>, Holt Rinehart and Winston, New York, New York, 1955. Multiple revisions and reprints, notably Illustrated editions (1976,1977,1978 etc.)<\/p>\n

Lord, Walter, THE NIGHT LIVES ON<\/a>, Willian Morrow and Company, New York, New York, 1986 (First Edition)<\/p>\n

Lynch, Don & Marshall Ken, TITANIC AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY<\/a>, Madison Press Books, Toronto, Ontario Canada, 1992<\/p>\n

Marshall, L. (2019). Sinking of the Titanic: The Greatest Disaster At Sea – Special Edition with Additional Photographs<\/a>. Independently Published.<\/p>\n

Rossignol, K. (2012). Titanic 1912: The Original News Reporting of the Sinking of the Titanic<\/a>. Createspace Independent Publishing Platform.<\/p>\n

Wade, Wyn Craig. The Titanic, End of a Dream<\/a>, 1979.<\/p>\n

Wilson, A. (2012). Shadow of the Titanic: The Extraordinary Stories of Those Who Survived<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This has been rewritten from 2025 with updated sources, grammar and spelling corrections.] The revelation that there were not enough lifeboats on Titanic led to an immediate change for the ocean liners. Up until the disaster, the general response was that putting more lifeboats aboard ships was impractical as it took away deck space. Almost … Continue reading Titanic Chronology:Olympic Departure Delayed Over Lifeboats (24 April 1912)<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[3],"tags":[776,4369,3871,3043,4367,4368,3040,641],"class_list":["post-18520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-titanic","tag-board-of-trade","tag-collapsible-lifeboats","tag-lifeboats","tag-olympic","tag-olympic-mutiny","tag-olympic-strike","tag-titanic","tag-white-star-line"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/titanicnewschannel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/titanicnewschannel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/titanicnewschannel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/titanicnewschannel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/titanicnewschannel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18520"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/titanicnewschannel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18523,"href":"https:\/\/titanicnewschannel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18520\/revisions\/18523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/titanicnewschannel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/titanicnewschannel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/titanicnewschannel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}