That the captain should be the last man to leave a sinking ship is probably the strongest and most honourable tradition of the sea, and every maritime nation can tell of captains, both naval and mercantile, who stayed with their ships until the last moment, and very often beyond. While a final salute is not necessarily part of the abandon ship drill, it would hardly be an inappropriate gesture and doubtless many captains bade a last farewell in this way.
In 1971 Indo-Pakistani War, Indian navy lost only one ship INS Khukri.. Captain Mahendranath Mulla was in command of INS Khukri.
Captain Mulla decided to ask the crew to abandon the ship and without regard to his personal safety he supervised the arrangements for rescue of his shipmates in a very cool, calm and methodical manner.
According to the survivors, he was last seen on the bridge and went down with his ship on the old tradition, "captains don't abandon their ships.". He was awarded Maha Vir Chakra posthumously for displaying conspicuous gallantry and dedication to duty.
