The captain goes down with the ship The captain goes down with the ship "The captain goes down with the ship" is an idiom and maritime tradition that a sea captain holds ultimate responsibility for both his ship and everyone embarked on it, and that in an emergency, he will either save them or die trying. Although often connected to the sinking of RMS "Titanic" in 1912 and its captain, Edward J. Smith, the phrase precedes "Titanic" by at least 11 years. In most instances, the captain of the ship forgoes his own rapid departure of a ship in distress, and concentrates instead on saving other people.
Lifeboats of the RMS Titanic was involved in a collision with the Lloyd Italiano liner in January 1909 and sank. Even though she did not have enough lifeboats for all passengers, they were all saved because the ship was able to stay afloat long enough for them to be ferried to ships coming to assist. This fact is what led to the harsh condemnation of Captain Stanley Lord of , who both American and British inquiries into the disaster felt could have saved many if not all of the passengers and crew had she heeded the "Titanic"s distress calls. In this scenario, "Titanic"s lifeboats would