Originally Posted By: Bingley
I am amazed by "it's dark." Of course it was dark, but it was also dark for the hundreds, if not thousands of people stranded on the ship. The captain sounded like a weak man, almost a child, pleading to be let out of a chore because he was scared. Did he lack the mental fortitude to execute his duties in a ship wreck? Was he so shocked that he was basically useless? Did he lack a sense of responsibility towards his passengers?

Apparently he did not return to the ship even after being so harshly scolded by the coast guard.

Very sad. The whole disaster sounds avoidable.


I wonder if it has anything to do with how computerized and sanitized, for lack of a better term, those positions have become. Those ships are modern engineering marvels where everything is geared for absolute comfort. I imagine it would be easy to forget you were even at sea. Those running the ship probably never entertained the idea that such a catastrophic failure could occur, which could partially explain their reactions. That combined with lack of training is a recipe for failure. Not excusing their behavior in any way, just trying to understand why they would react that way.