1
general::
Phrase(s): desert a sinking ship [and] leave a sinking ship
Fig. to leave a place, a person, or a situation when things become difficult or unpleasant. (Rats are said to be the first to leave a ship that is sinking.) • I hate to be the one to desert a sinking ship, but I can’t work for a company that continues to lose money. • There goes Tom. Wouldn’t you know he’d leave a sinking ship rather than stay around and try to help?
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
Abandon a failing enterprise before it is too late. For example, After seeing the company's financial statement, he knew it was time to desert a sinking ship. This metaphoric expression alludes to rats, which leave a vessel when it founders in a storm or runs aground so as to escape drowning. It was transferred to human behavior by about 1600.
American Heritage Idioms