We are, without a doubt, a visually oriented species. We\u00a0tend to learn best through graphical means. You can\u00a0talk about something all day, but seeing is believing \u2014 and\u00a0there\u2019s no substitute.<\/p>\n
We are, without a doubt, a visually oriented species. We\u00a0tend to learn best through graphical means. You can\u00a0talk about something all day, but seeing is believing \u2014 and\u00a0there\u2019s no substitute. Very occasionally, the universe serves\u00a0it up, in your face, as if to say, \u201cSo you doubted me?\u201d<\/p>\n
As we motored into Southeast Basin in Long Beach Harbor, Calif., on the morning of Sept. 9 for a bunker delivery to a freighter in the adjacent Six Basin, the presence of the containership Mississippi at Pier G was notable for only one thing beyond its massive size: an abnormally large list to starboard, away from the dock and toward the bright green STAX Engineering Inc., Long Beach, Calif., emissions-reduction barge spudded down alongside. My seaman\u2019s eye estimate was around 7\u00b0 to 8\u00b0 \u2014 enough to make me wonder what might be going on with them, stability-wise. Typically, I would expect to see no more than about a 5\u00b0 list when they\u2019re working cargo, and usually much less. This was the most I\u2019d ever seen.<\/p>\n
I thought to myself that if our bunker delivery was for the Mississippi, given the significant list combined with a full load of containers on deck and the fact that they were actively working cargo, I would decline to go alongside, report the circumstances, and await further instructions (in other words, drop back 10 yards and punt).<\/p>\n