A Cape Town port-call dispute over apartheid

A planned 1955 Cape Town visit raised the question of whether South Africa's apartheid rules would apply to Midway and her crew. Captain Reynold Delos Hogle maintained that the warship remained United States territory, with federal law governing aboard, so segregation would not be introduced there. He also insisted that European and non-European sailors invited to an evening event would attend together. Several hundred of the roughly 4,100 crew members were non-European, making this an immediate command and diplomatic problem. The incident shows how a warship can carry its state's law and policy into a foreign port while its captain negotiates the practical consequences.