Law of the Sea

Two months ago seven destroyers, speeding south along the Pacific coast, bound for San Diego, ran ashore 75 miles north of Santa Barbara. Twenty-three men were lost, and $13,000,000 worth of ships. A Court of Inquiry investigated; court martial proceedings are under way against eleven officers. There may be convictions and acquittals. But the lesson of the disaster and the law of the sea were laid down in the report of the Board of Inquiry, written by Rear Admiral William V. Pratt. This report was published last week:

"The disaster is, in the first instance, directly attributable to bad orders, errors of judgment and faulty navigation on the part of three officers attached to and serving on the U. S. S. Delphy, viz: the squadron commander, Captain Edward H. Watson, the commanding officer, Lieut. Commander Donald T. Hunter, and the navigating officer, Lieutenant Lawrence Francis Blodgett.

"Their responsibility is full and complete, and the court sees no extenuating circumstances. In the case of the division commanders, the court finds they must be held responsible in a measure. The fact remains that they did too blindly follow the judgment of the squadron commander.

"Nothing can replace the use of sound common sense on the part of the subordinate, and if he is not furnished with sufficient information by his leader to absolutely safeguard his own unit or to effectively carry out the plan he must ask for it himself, and, failing in this, he must use every effort of his own to obtain it in order to better execute the general plan, and by so doing aid the efforts of the leader. This is imperative and is believed to be much more in accord- ance with destroyer and fleet doctrine than to blindly follow the leader.

"The traditions of the sea are strong, the ideals high, the rules which seafaring men set for themselves rigid and hard. . . .

"If a captain loses his ship, he loses his command even when attend- ing circumstances point entirely to his complete exoneration from blame. The Navy can do no less." Each captain that loses his ship must bear a responsibility due to that loss. Even though a court honorably acquits him of blame he must first assume the responsibility for the ship he commanded. Only by maintaining this standard can the high ideals and traditions of the Navy be preserved."

The law of the sea is inexorable. Two men, Commander William C. Calhoun and Lieutenant Commander Seed, will be among those tried by court martial, and will lose their commands because of this report. Yet the same report asked that official letters of commendation be given these two for " coolness, intelligence and seamanlike ability," for "great bravery," in meeting the emergency after their ships had dashed on the rocks.