When you see a movie like a Titanic, you realised the brave behaviour of caption and his loyalty towards the ship and his duties are at next level. But at the same time you starts to question yourself why captains have to really sink with their ships in fact they also a human being and have family and friends. In this article we will be concovering this topic and settle your curiosity for this question.
Where Did this idea come from?
The idea that ship captions must go down with their ship is there from a long time. This is due to the fact that Captions are the ultimate leader of their ships and anything happens to and within ship is the responsibility of the captain. While on the other hand staying with the ship in any situation after holding the captain position showcase their commitments and bravery.
Few examples in past like the famous HMS Birkenhead disaster in 1852, where the officers and captain stayed with the ship and preferred the evacutaion of womens and children first without bothering about their own lifes.
Who can forget Captain Edward Smith of Titanic who stayed within the ship till the final Voyage and died, furthering the image of a captain’s ultimate sacrifice.
Are there any laws that restrict Captain to go down with Ship?
No, There is no such law ever required the Captain of a ship should stay in the ship even in the unfortunate instances of sinking. In fact even in the history when Captain did stay with ship was amatter of personal honor and pride rather than a legal requirement.
What will happen if a Captain leaves the ship too soon?
Even though there is no such law that forces Captain to go down with ship, but if he leaves the ship too early then he might have to face legal consequences, or he can lose his job as well. Along with this public criticism is something that will come on his way too often.
There has been a similar situation back in 2012 with Costa Concordia accident. Captain Francesco Schettino left the ship before the evacuation of many passengers, which led to a lot of criticism and legal trouble for him.
In the situation of Ship crash, Captains first responsibility is to lead the evacuation of passengers and ensure everyone’s safety before saving his life.
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