The Captain's Duty on a Sinking Ship by Craig H. Allen

While doing some more research, I came across this updated article by Craig H. Allen, a Coast Guard Attorney, presently serving as commanding officer of the Coast Guard cutter Resolute.

"In accordance with both the lore of the sea and the law of the sea, it is widely believed that a ship's captain, in the event of disaster, must go down with his ship - or at least  he is expected to be the last one to step off its awash decks.

The master of the cruise ship M/V Oceanos, who in the fall of 1991 off the coast of Africa, breached this custom by fleeing his sinking ship while hundreds of passengers remained aboard, soon learned the dishonour that attends such a too-hasty abandonment.

The master's actions during the sinking of the Oceanos raised a number of questions among captains of both merchant marine and naval vessels. 

• What is the captain's duty to his ship and to his passengers and crew following a casualty which threatens to sink the vessel.
• What is the source of that duty and how is it enforced.
• Finally, does the order to abandon ship extinguish any further duty by the captain to the ship and it's passengers and crew?

At Lloyd's of London, the famous marine insurance organization founded in 1689, the ship's bell from HMS Lutine is traditionally rung to announce maritime disasters.  In August of 1991, the Lutine bell was no doubt tolled to announce the demise of the Greek cruise ship Oceanos which had sailed from East London to Durban, South Africa, with 571 passengers and crew members.  The 7,554 ton vessel was commanded by Captain Yiannis Avranas, a Greek licensed master with 30 years seagoing experience.  On August 3, while engulfed in a gale, the ship began taking on water after a main engine explosion damaged the hull.  Powerless, the ship drifted in 80 knot winds and 30 foot seas, with flooding waters rising deck by deck within.  A growing list developed, eventually taking the ship to the bottom.

Miraculously, all 571 souls aboard the Oceanos survived - a tribute to the courage and professionalism of the South African Air Force.  Helicopter crews operating out of Cape Town and Durban reportedly hoisted more than 170 passengers from the deck of this sinking vessel in conditions that were described as harrowing.  Private vessels rescued 400 more survivors from the ship's lifeboats.

Much public attention was focused not on the heroic rescuers, however, but on the ship's master and his actions.  Almost immediately, survivors began to tell a tale of cowardice and betrayal.  The captain, they reported, abandoned his ship in the first helicopter, leaving 160 passengers on board.  A navy diver who had been lowered to assist the passengers in getting into hoisting slings reported that Captain Avranas stepped ahead of elderley passengers and demanded to be hoisted next.  The diver, believing he had misunderstood him, turned to assist the passenger, only to find that the Captain had already donned the sling and was being hoisted off.  This comes from reports published after the rescue.

Incredibly, Robin Boltman, a magician hired to entertain the ship's passengers during the cruise, oversaw the evacuation following the captain's hasty departure.  At first using music and comedy to keep up morale among the remaining passengers while awaiting rescue, Boltman and his fellow entertainers later guided the passengers to the sloping, spray-soaked deck when their turn to be hoisted finally came.  Then, recognizing that a string of lights was going to interfere with the helicopters access to the ship, Boltman climbed aloft to cut the lights away.  Throughout the rescue, he coordinated the operation with helicopters, using the ship's radio.  In the end, it was Robin Boltman, not the ship's captain, who was the last to leave the Oceanos.

When questioned about his conduct, Captain Avranas was predictably defensive.  "When I order abandon ship, it doesn't matter matter what time I leave," he said.  "Abandon ship is for everybody.  If some people like to stay, they can stay."  Many observers in the maritime industry disagreed.  Bill Fowler, a maritime historian at Mystic Seaport, Conn., observed that, "It is very, very unusual for the captain to leave his vessel in a moment of crisis.  He has to set the example of courage and moral standing."

Frank Branyard, curator of the American Merchant Marine Museum at Kings Point N.Y., and author of several books on shipping was less restrained.  Captain Avranas, he observed, exhibited cowardice and panic.  "Anyone who loves the sea and knows the sea understands that the captain is responsible for the safety of his passengers."  Captain Avranas should be deprived of his license and face criminal prosecution, Branyard said, for "betraying the responsibilities of a ship's master that date from the earliest days of navigation."

This is an excerpt, and I have not reproduced Craig Allen's article in full.  It is available on the internet for all to read in it's entirety.

 

Michael O'Mahoney

OCEANOS August 2010 - 19 Years Later

It is hard to believe that the Oceanos sank 19 years ago, anyhow it is time I updated my blog, so here goes.

 By far the most enquiries I have received from people who viewed my blog relate to the actions of the captain, so I will include an interesting article I located on the internet which relates to the duties of the captain on a sinking ship.

"Federal statues impose few specific requirements on a merchant ship's captain following a casualty.  The shipping laws of the United States and most other nations do contain a "Standby Act," which requires the captain of a ship involved in a collision or other incident with another vessel to stand by and render such assistance as the ship is capable of.  However no statute or regulation specifically addresses the captain's duty to his own ship in the event of a sinking.

Nevertheless, the captain's duty to remain with his ship until the end is recognized.  The Merchant Marine Officers Handbook, for example, lists the duties of a master following a casualty.  According to the hand-book the master is:

1. The last man to leave the vessel;

2. Bound to use all reasonable efforts to save everything possible (ship and cargo ), through aid of salvage, if necessary;

3. Responsible for return of the crew;

4. Responsible for communicating promptly with owners and underwriters;

5. In charge until lawfully suspended.

Federal case law largely echoes this handbook.  Courts have ruled that a captain's duty "includes doing, at all times, everything possible to preserve the vessel."  And "even though the so-called duty of a captain to go down with his ship exists more in fiction than in fact, there can be no doubt that he must risk even that, in some measure, if by remaining aboard he may be able to save her".

The duties imposed on merchant  vessel captains are enforced in a number of ways.  Captains who fail in their duty to the ship's owner or passengers will likely find that - like Jim in Conrad's novel - the only available work is a position as water clerk.  In addition, any licensed mariner who is found to have committed an act of misconduct, negligence, or incompetence in his duties may face license suspension or revocation proceedings.  Finally, the master may find himself facing a variety of lawsuits.

Maritime law and naval regulations and custom impose a broadly defined duty on captains of ships involved in casualties to attempt to save their ship if at all possible.  Failing that, the captain must remain in command at all times and do his best to ensure the safety of any passengers and crew members in abandoning ship and effecting rescue.  To accomplish this, the captain must remain aboard his vessel until all passengers and crew are evacuated or accounted for.  At that point, the wise ship's captain will no doubt conclude that it is better to "live and fight another day" than go down with the ship.

This is an excerpt. The original article was written by Craig Allen, a Coast Guard attorney presently serving as commanding officer of the Coast Guard cutter Resolute.