The popular image is of Captain Edward Smith of the Titanic stoically remaining on the bridge of his stricken vessel as she plunges under the frigid waves. He is seen as the embodiment of gallantry and honour; the captain who goes down with his ship. There is a certain amount of mythology attached to Captain Smith’s story. It is not known for certainty how he died but it is known beyond doubt he never left his command while passengers and crew were still of board. Sadly, others have not been so courageous.
The Costa Concordia Disaster
The massive Italian cruise ship the Costa Concordia foundered on rocks just off the Mediterranean island of Giglio on the night of January 13, 2012. Under the command of Captain Francesco Schettino, the ship had 4,200 passengers and crew aboard. The half-submerged vessel now lies on its starboard side about 150m from shore with 16 known fatalities and perhaps a couple of dozen more bodies yet to be found.
Writing for the Daily Mail Julian Gavaghan, notes that “The liner’s Italian captain, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest as prosecutors investigate him for suspected manslaughter, causing a shipwreck, and abandoning the ship while many were still aboard.”
Captain Schettino claims he tripped and fell into a lifeboat and decided to coordinate the rescue effort from there and later on land. But few are buying the story. As Eric Reguly reports in the Globe and Mail “Italians dismiss Capt. Francesco Schettino’s erratic behaviour as a vergogna (shame) on Italy,” and he has been dubbed “Captain Coward” around the world.
Captain Schettino not Alone
Andrew Lambert, a professor of naval history at King’s College, London, told Discovery News “The story of captains abandoning sinking passengers is as old as ships. They are only human.”
One of the worst examples is that of Hugues de Chaumareys, captain of the French frigate Medusa.
In July 1816 the sailing ship was bound for Senegal with 400 people aboard when she smacked into a reef off the African coast. In the New York Times Florence Williams writes that, “Most of the politicians and officers, including the captain, boarded five lifeboats. Most of the rest, crew, soldiers, and a few unlucky settlers, were herded onto a makeshift raft, having been promised that they would be towed to safety by the lifeboats.”
Then, according to Rossella Lorenzi of Discovery News, “the raft was ordered cut free by de Chaumareys, who abandoned the passengers to a gruesome fate of murder and cannibalism.” By the time the raft was found by another French ship only 15 of the original 147 remained alive. Captain de Chaumareys faced a court martial but was only given a slap on the wrist.
Other Disgraced Captains
In July 1880 Captain Joseph Clark left Penang with 953 Muslim pilgrims heading for Mecca aboard the S.S. Jeddah. They ran into some very rough weather and the ship started leaking. Capt. Clark and some other British officers abandoned ship and left the pilgrims to fend for themselves, knowing there were not enough lifeboats to save them all.
Capt. Clark and his crew were picked up by another ship and when they got to Aden Clark reported his vessel lost at sea. However, the storm died down, and the Jeddah was towed into the port of Aden with all the pilgrims saved. An inquiry found Captain Clark guilty of gross misconduct and his master’s certificate was suspended for three years.
More recently, Captain Yianis Avranas left his stricken cruise ship the Oceanos as it was sinking off the coast of South Africa. The Greek liner was listing in heavy seas with 170 passengers still on board when the captain left. Luckily everybody on board was saved by helicopters with the ship’s entertainment staff organizing the rescue.
Capt. Avranas had scorn heaped upon him but his employer, Epirotiki Lines, gave him another command.
No Law Demands Captains Sacrifice Themselves
According to Howard G. Chua-Eoan (Time Magazine, June 2001), “In reality, there is no law of the sea that requires the captain to remain to the end.”
He adds that “Such nautical chivalry, however, began only in Victorian times. Previously, women were tossed overboard in emergencies so that men could have a greater supply of rations.”
Naval Historian Andrew Lambert told the CBC radio program The Current that captains abandoning their ships is “rather more common than we are led to believe. Very few ship’s captains did the heroic thing of standing on the bridge and waiting for the ship to go down.”
Sources
- “Fears Costa Concordia Death Toll Could Be even Higher amid Claims 13th Body Pulled from Ship Was Unregistered Passenger.” Julian Gavaghan, Daily Mail, January 23, 2012.
- “Scorned Cruise Ship Captain not Alone in History.” Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News, January 17, 2012.
- “Captain Coward Forever Linked to Cruise Ship Disaster.” Eric Reguly, Globe and Mail, January 20, 2012.
- “Rocking the Boat.” Florence Williams, New York Times, December 2, 2007.
- “Disasters: Going, Going...” Howard G. Chua-Eoan, Time Magazine, June 24, 2001.
- “Abandoning Ship: History of Captains.” CBC The Current, January 20, 2012.
Rupert Taylor - Rupert Taylor is the editor of a magazine that provides background to current events.
