The captain goes down with the ship

"The captain goes down with the ship" is the maritime concept and tradition that a sea captain holds ultimate responsibility for both his ship and his passengers and will die trying to save either of them. The concept may be expressed as "the captain always goes down with the ship" or simply the "captain goes down with his ship". Although often associated with the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912 and its captain, Edward Smith, it predates the Titanic by at least 11 years.

History

The concept is closely related to another protocol from the nineteenth century, "women and children first." Both reflect the Victorian ideal of chivalry in which the upper classes were expected to emulate a morality tied to sacred honor, service, and respect for the disadvantaged. The actions of the captain and men during the sinking of HMS Birkenhead in 1852 prompted praise from many due to the sacrifice of the men who saved the women and children by evacuating them first. Rudyard Kipling's poem "Soldier an' Sailor Too" and Samuel Smiles' Self-Help both highlighted the valour of the men who stood at attention and played in the band as their ship was sinking.

"Death before dishonor" is a broader, modern sentiment that is common in military parlance.

In practice

The idiom literally means that a captain will be the last person to leave a ship alive prior to its sinking or utter destruction, and if unable to evacuate his crew and passengers, the captain will not evacuate himself. In maritime law the responsibility of the ship's master for his ship is paramount no matter what its condition, so abandoning a ship has legal consequences, including the nature of salvage rights. So even if a captain abandons his ship in distress, he is generally responsible for it in his absence and would be compelled to return to the ship when danger to the vessel has relented. If a naval captain evacuates a vessel in wartime, it may be considered a capital offense like desertion, mutiny, or sedition unless he subsequently destroys the ship or permits it to sink.

In many countries abandoning a ship in distress is considered a crime that can lead to imprisonment. For example, Italian authorities arrested Captain Francesco Schettino for leaving his ship in the midst of the Costa Concordia disaster.

Examples

Bounty sank during Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2012. Two people died, including Captain Wallbridge, after the ship lost generator power and flooded.

• 12 September 1857: William Lewis Herndon was in command of the commercial mail steamer Central America when she encountered a hurricane. Two ships came to the rescue, but could only save a fraction of the passengers, so Captain Herndon chose to remain with the rest.
• 15 April 1912: Captain Edward Smith on RMS Titanic.
• 5 June 1942: Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, on board the stricken aircraft carrier Hiryu, insisting on sinking with the ship during the Battle of Midway. The ship's master, Captain Kaku, followed his example.
• December 9, 1971: Mahendra Nath Mulla, the captain of the Indian frigate INS Khukri went down with her as she was sunk by a submarine in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. At least 194 members of the crew died due to the sinking, which reportedly took 2 minutes.
• 29 October 2012: Captain Robin Wallbridge of the Bounty, a replica of HMS Bounty was washed off the deck as she sank during Hurricane Sandy. All fourteen crew members who made it to a life boat survived the sinking of the sailing ship and were rescued by U.S. Coast Guard helicopters.

Counter-examples

• 3 or 4 August 1991: Captain Yiannis Avranas of the cruise ship MTS Oceanos.
• 13 January 2012: Captain Francesco Schettino of the Costa Concordia.

Metaphorical use

When used metaphorically, the "captain" may be simply the leader of a group of people; "the ship" may refer to some other place that is threatened by catastrophe; and "going down" with it may refer to a situation that implies a severe penalty or death. It is common for references to be made in the case of the military and when leadership during the situation is clear. So when a raging fire threatens to destroy a mine, the mine's supervisor, the "captain," may perish in the fire trying to rescue his workers trapped inside, and acquaintances might say that he went down with his ship or that he "died trying."