Can you imagine this guy coordinating offshore rescue ops, instead of from a position where at least a portion of passengers could swim to safety, or could get to safety quickly?
Makes me wonder about the competency of other cruise captains.
The Captain, even after reassuring the Port Authority he was going to, never went back on the ship after he abandoned it. He will almost certainly face charges.
The one thing he did right after the collision, probably to save his own ass more than anything, was to ground the ship before she could sink. In that regard, at least, he probably did save lives but those lives were at risk due to his incompetence and gross negligence in the first place.
Given a choice of a captain who was not distracted by concern for his personal safety because he was already in a lifeboat, or a captain doing his best to get everyone off quickly and safely so that he could then save his own life, I'd prefer the traditional approach. This "man" is so low that I can't imagine wanting to live with the reputation he just earned.
Did the capt go below to assess the damage or at least the ocean inflow rate?