Captain was first to flee, say survivors

[DoYouEverWonder]

04 February 2006

Survivors of the Red Sea ferry disaster have said the captain and his crew were first to flee the burning ship by lifeboat and abandoned them to their fate.

Some passengers plucked alive from the sea or from boats after the ferry caught fire and sank early on Friday said on Saturday that the crew had told them not to worry about a fire below deck and even ordered them to take off lifejackets.

The survivors said a fire broke out below deck shortly after the 35-year-old vessel left the Saudi port of Duba on Thursday evening.

Shihata Ali, an Egyptian survivor, said the passengers had told the captain about the fire but he told them not to worry.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D0ABA196-CC68-4C93-A336-A3592A087C0D.htm


At the moment, no one knows where the captain of this ship is. I hope they are preparing a very small jail cell for him when they find him.

[bluestateguy]

1. Correct me if I'm wrong

but isn't the protocal that the captain should be the last person off the ship, once he has ensured the safety of all passengers? And that the captain goes down with the ship if he can't do that?

[Turbineguy]

8. There's only one reason

for going down with the ship and that is you do not have to attend the inquiry later.

But the protocol is that the Captain ensures the safety of all aboard. He does not necessarily have to be on board the stricken vessel to do that but it's better if he is.

In the inquiry everything gets looked at with a very jaundiced eye. Considering that all the circumstances may not come out at the inquiry (there are always agendas) it's best to behave in a traditional manner. Directing events from a lifeboat or a helicopter or from a bluff overlooking the wreck or even from a hotel room by telephone generally won't do.

[LiberalFighter]

16. That sounds like the former FEMA director

[geomon666]

13. It's not any official protocol.

That tradition (if you can call it that) came about for salvage reasons. As long as a representative of the owner was on board the ship, it couldn't be claimed as salvage, hence, Captain going down with the ship.

[KittyWampus]

14. that is so interesting... and makes so much sense.

[William769]

2. So much for the captain going down with the ship.

[pretzel4gore]

3. same with capt smith on the ss titanic!

which turned out to be a lie.....but when the uss america does its belly up, you can betcha the lifeboat be fulla gopigs counting their money! and at the bow will be wow, geebush junior, with not even a toe wet! when the lifeboat starts sinking from being overloaded with loot and fat smelly men, the shrieks and frantic cries for mercy will drown out the death of the ss united states, which goes quietly to davy jones locker.....
(the pigmedia is always so brave to judge those in trouble harshly, unless those in trouble are pigs)

[SpiralHawk]

4. Same with the kaptain on the S.S. ChimPee

as it rams the Ship of State with catapults of greed, corruption, propaganda, incompetence, and zealotry.

[smirkymonkey]

9. Good one!

:rofl:

[wordpix2]

10. SS Chimpee kaptain first went to safe to get the $$ out before he escaped

[meganmonkey]

11. Except they weren't $$$, they were Euros

Chimpee's financial advisors know better than to invest in the sinking US$$$

[truthisfreedom]

5. "told the captain about the fire but he told them not to worry..." hmm.

he's sounding more and more like a terrorist, huh?

[acmavm]

6. No, he sounds like he's giving the SOTU address. n/t

[nodehopper]

7. YES!

[KittyWampus]

15. Except don't those sorts usually want to die to... so they can get those v

virgins?

[boobooday]

12. Can you imagine the passengers . . .

watching the captain float away on the life boat?

He'll be lucky to go to jail, where he will be safe from the families of the victims and the survivors.

[NYC]

17. Reminds me of Lord Jim

by Joseph Conrad.

[seriousstan]

18. Except that ship didn't go down. I hope they find and hang this coward.

[flashdebadge]

19. I thought captains edi cate was that you stay on board until all are off

[niallmac]

20. I know we are talking about poor people

in a desperate financial situation seeking respite from Saudi provided jobs and therefore utilizing the least expensive transportation
possible but do not international rules of navigation or whatever prescribe a standard of training for captians of such vessels?
I mean are all these Liberian, Panamanian registered vessels full of souls and oil and everything else being piloted by whoever
answers the ad?