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1. They weren't in a lagoon but in Blackett Strait, a deep channel (1,200 ft). There was no lagoon anywhere near the location. 2. They weren't drifting out of fuel but idling on a single engine (out of 3) to avoid detection of their wake. 3. They were overrun by a destroyer returning to base at high speed.

Watch the movie, this event happen months before the final disaster which you speak. They were on a mission to rescue a platoon of marines from the lagoon. They ran out off fuel and were drifting in the lagoon towards the enemy. Watch the movie, I think this is an accurate depiction. If so he was an incompetent Naval Officer.