The next and inevitable question is one of who certified the mate?
I didn’t think you were defending the indefensible conduct of Capt. Hazelwood. The third mate was not certified to run the the “autopilot”, and it was his unfamiliarity with the automatic navigational system that was the proximate cause of the accident. Hazelwood left an unqualified, uncertified very junior officer to run the ship while he and the more senior officers slept it off. That was enough to pull his ticket, right there. Prince Williams Sound is not a particularly challenging or crowded harbor, which lulled everyone into a false sense of security. The Commander of the Coast Guard said his twelve year old nephew could have safely navigated it. Unfortunately, his nephew was not available that night.