Oceangoing Ships

A by-product of a whale watching cruise out of Long Beach, CA is that you get to see a lot of ships.

That’s great if you like ships.  Most of the people on the boat went back to their smartphones and beer once we left the whales.

Fortunately, I like ships.

Besides the boyish wonder that ships hold, this day was provocative in many ways.  Questions that ran around in my head included:

  • Just what is in all of those container ships?
  • Why don’t we hear about container ships capsizing?  I’m sure that there’s solid engineering behind their design and loading.  But, they sure do look top-heavy.
  • I just have to wonder how often does a container simply fall off?
  • Just what was that shooting out of several vessels?  Bilge water? Ballast water?  Better off not knowing water?
  • Do we still make anything here?
  • How often do they break down?
  • What’s Plan B if there is a breakdown in the middle of the ocean?

I made the most of the day and created a lot of images.

There was a haze-smog that actually made a lot of them digital trash.  Makes me understand the push to use cleaner fuels and minimize idling in the ports. It’s one thing to hear about it and not give it much thought.  It’s another thing to actually see it as you can in the image below.  Now I get it. Now I understand the concerns.  Air is not brown by nature…

DSC_9442 United Banner 480

Anyways… back to ships.

There has been a new Gallery created within “things on or by the water” – simply titled oceangoing ships.  Somewhere in the files, there are more ship shots from here and there, and more images will be added to the gallery over time.

I invite you to sit back, check out some ships, and see what questions come to your mind.

Enjoy!