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Cross Section of Merchant Vessel
Photographer: Savannah's Cobblestones Marker
Taken: May 24, 2009
Caption: Cross Section of Merchant Vessel
Additional Description: Ballast stones made ships more stable under sail and reduced the likelihood of capsizing by lowering the vessel's center of gravity. When heavy cargos were loaded, ballast was deposited on shore. In many colonial American ports, laws were passed to prevent ballast from being dumped into the harbor to prevent filling the harbor and hindering navigation. When ballast had been in the hold for long periods, it became fouled with waste and jeopardized the health of the crew. Ships with fouled ballast were unloaded, the hull cleaned, and new ballast was stowed.
Submitted: May 31, 2009, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.
Database Locator Identification Number: p65323
File Size: 0.105 Megabytes

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