The US inquiry concluded that those involved had merely followed standard practice , and the disaster could thus only be categorised as an " act of God " , and the British inquiry concluded that Smith had followed long - standing practice which had not previously been shown to be unsafe ( the inquiry noted that British ships alone had carried 3.5 million passengers over the previous decade with the loss of just 10 lives ) and concluded that he had done " only that which other skilled men would have done in the same position . "