The Seizure of The Mayaguez: A Case Study of Crisis Management

On May 12, 1975, the U.S. merchant vessel Mayaguez was seized by Cambodian naval forces. During the next three days, the United States undertook a variety of diplomatic and military actions in an effort to secure the release of the ship and its 40 crew members. GAO's investigation of the incident concerned primarily the processes and procedures for handling the crisis. GAO attempted to find out whether decisionmakers had all available information on which to base their actions and whether implementing diplomatic and military operations were in accord with the decisions taken at the highest level.