> From a utilitarian standpoint my guess is that the payoff is confidence.
That's definitely part of the rational behind the more general duty to provide assistance at sea:
"A master or individual in charge of a vessel shall render assistance to any individual found at sea in danger of being lost, so far as the master or individual in charge can do so without serious danger to the master’s or individual’s vessel or individuals on board."
That's definitely part of the rational behind the more general duty to provide assistance at sea:
"A master or individual in charge of a vessel shall render assistance to any individual found at sea in danger of being lost, so far as the master or individual in charge can do so without serious danger to the master’s or individual’s vessel or individuals on board."
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/46/2304