“Translation - it wasn’t the first time …”
Yep, that’s what it sounds like. And I’d bet that this captain made rank because of her gender. Affirmative action really doesn’t help anyone.
One fuel spill does not torpedo the Captain's career. That's a screw up by someone actually handling the valves etc. You read them and their section leader the riot act, given them s**t duty for a month, pull their quals on a few things and have them (re)take training.
There must be more to the story - a history of significant mistakes (ie. the kind that get noticed by command) that indicate leadership failure from the top down.
20 years from now, some Rat will try to make her an admiral.