Captain is the last to leave the ship.

The law provides the captain of the ship with huge and wide powers to manage the crew and passengers on board. In essence, the captain of the vessel during the voyage represents the entire state power with the corresponding rights, including the right to certify the wills of the deceased and the birth of the child on the vessel during the voyage (Article 70 of the Merchant Shipping Code of the Russian Federation) ^[3] , the right to institute criminal proceedings, and to carry out urgent investigative actions , even the arrest and use of force, for example to suppress a rebellion or to protect against pirate attacks ^{[4] [5] [6]} . In many cases, even a senior in rank or position does not have the right to give orders to bypass the captain. Thus, the captain has the absolute right to make decisions related to the safety of the vessel, cargo and crew, not limited by any subordinate circumstances. The ship's captain retains his rights even after the death of the ship until the crew returns to their homeland. The flip side of the huge rights and powers of the ship's captain is the equally great responsibility for the fate of the ship and, above all, the people on board, whom he must save in all circumstances, even at the cost of danger to his own life.

Captain Edward John Smith , remaining aboard the sinking passenger liner Titanic

• On April 15, 1912, the captain of the Titanic passenger liner Edward John Smith stayed on a sinking ship, sharing the fate of 1,496 passengers and crew members who died during this one of the largest marine disasters .
• On June 27, 1940, the Italian submarine Console Generale Liuzzi in the Mediterranean was attacked and forced to sail by British destroyers. Its commander, Lieutenant-Captain Lorenzo Bezzi ordered the crew to leave the ship, and then flooded the submarine with him ^[7] .
• On February 28, 1942, during the first battle in the Sea of ​​Java, Dutch Rear Admiral Karel Doorman commanded the flagship light cruiser De Ruyter , who was hit by a Type 93 torpedo from the Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro and began to sink. Part of the cruiser’s crew was saved, but Doorman, following the old maritime tradition, remained on a sinking ship and died on it ^[8] .
• During the Battle of Midway, the Japanese aircraft carrier Soryu was hit on June 5, 1942 by American aircraft and was engulfed in a fire, the fight against which was hopeless. The captain of the ship Ryusaku Yanagimoto ordered the crew to leave the sinking ship, but he remained on it, sharing the fate of hundreds of sailors cut off by fire in the holds of an aircraft carrier. On that day, the same feat was made by the commander of the aircraft carrier “ Hiru ” captain 1st rank Tameo Kaku ( Japanese 加 来 止 男 ), who remained on the burning ship. Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi also remained with him, who wanted to atone for his death for the death of the carrier-carrier entrusted to him ^{[9] [10]} .

• During the crash of the Costa Concordia liner on the night of January 13-14, 2012 in the Tyrrhenian Sea, its captain Francesco Skettino left the ship long before all surviving passengers and crew were rescued from it. It was found that Skettino left the ship one of the first, as early as Friday, although the evacuation continued until Saturday morning. During the evacuation of passengers, Skettino did not obey the order of the commander of the coast guard center in Livorno, Admiral Gregorio de Falco, to return to the ship and lead the evacuation on the spot. For these actions, on February 11, 2015, the court of first instance in the city of Grosseto found Skettino guilty of unintentional killing of 32 people who died as a result of the disaster, and that he left the ship before the evacuation of all those on board and sentenced him to 16 years in prison ^[11] .
• On April 7, 1990, during a fire on the Scandinavian Star ferry, his 57-year-old captain Hakon Larsen left the burning ship 1 hour 20 minutes after the fire started, although more than 30 people remained on the ferry. However, Larsen did not know about the passengers on board. Nevertheless, the court convicted him of negligence , which led to the death of 158 people, and sentenced him to 6 months in prison ^[12] .
• On April 16, 2014, during the crash of the Sevol ferry, Captain Lee Zhong Suk was one of the first to leave the ship ^[13] . Of the 476 people on board the ferry, 304 were killed (the bodies of 295 dead were found, 9 people were reported missing). During the search operation, three more people died. After a series of trials on April 28, 2015, the South Korean Court of Appeal overturned the decision of the Gwangju City Court to imprison Li Zhong Sok for 36 years and sentenced him to life imprisonment, convicting him of mass murder.
• On December 6, 1917, in the harbor of the Canadian city of Halifax, the French military transport Mont Blanc, loaded with almost one explosive ( TNT , pyroxylin and picric acid ), collided with the Norwegian ship Imo . A fire started on the ship. Knowing the nature of the cargo, Captain Aime Le Medec immediately gave the command to leave the ship. All of the "Mont Blanc" safely reached the coast, leaving a deadly cargo to their fate. The burning "Mont Blanc" began to drift towards the shore and eventually fell nose on a wooden pier. At 9 hours 06 min. a monstrous explosion occurred, as a result, the port and a significant part of the city were completely destroyed. About 2 thousand people died under the rubble of buildings and due to fires that arose after the explosion. About 9 thousand people were injured, 400 people lost their sight. On December 13, 1917, a trial began in the surviving building of the Halifax City Court. It ended on February 4, 1918. Le Medec and the local pilot Mackay, who were arrested, were found guilty. However, after a year or so, after the consideration of the case by the Supreme Court of Canada, both were released, and they returned the licenses of boatmasters. The international court, considering the claims of both shipping companies, concluded that the captain Imo (killed in the explosion) and Mont Blanc were equally to blame for the collision. However, the French government did not recognize such a decision. Le Medec continued to serve at the company General Transatlantic until 1922. And in 1931, in connection with his retirement, he was awarded the Legion of Honor . ^{[14] [15]}

• Women and children first
• Ship captain
• Ship commander