Sinking the ships was against the rules.
So the lifeboat....if this actually happened....Wikipedia is not a source....were told to get back to their ships. And stop sinking them in accordance with the armistice.
So Germans disobeyed and in the confusion, men with guns get scared and confused and triggered. Triggered with the trigger and men die. Put a man under stress and fear for his life and it may have been seen as a mutiny and an attempt to take over Scapa or the RN ships there. So chicken dinner every time.