Why a wooden warship was difficult to scuttle

Why did Hannibal's crew not simply scuttle the wooden ship before capture?

Wooden hulls remain buoyant, so reliable scuttling could require blowing the ship apart and risking the entire crew when no escape boats remained.

Opening a hole did not guarantee that a timber-built ship would sink promptly because so much of its structure floated. The reliable alternative was catastrophic explosive destruction. With the boats already committed or lost, that choice could also trap the crew, making surrender more likely than a suicidal attempt to deny the ship to the enemy.