Watch in high quality (480p). In this video, it shows me and my family's first time trip inside a cargo ship. This was my cousin Schubert's cargo ship, called "The Bai Chay Bridge". This was located at the Port of Oakland, CA. We first went to see cousin Schubert's office. He was chief engineer! We ate a snack and had fellowship a bit. Then later, we went on the tour around the ship with my cousin as a guide! By the way, we had to wear those bright yellow vests for our own safety, and of course to know that we are visitors on the ship. First off, we saw the bridge. This was our first time being in a place where the captain of the ship would be at! We saw all there is to see around the bridge as well as the front steering wheel and all the special gadgets and controls. We also got a good view of the distant Downtown San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. My cousin also showed us their GPS system as well as their routes and the weather map print. The print helps them determine where to go to avoid big storms while out in the open sea. It was around 3:30ish p.m. at this time. After seeing the bridge, we then went to see numerous rooms around the deck. First off was the library. It was pretty small. Next one was the officer's lounge. It was like their "bar". They had a nice entertainment center with sofas as well. Then we went to the ship's office room. It was like an office with a large controlling panel. Then afterwards, we went to the galley, or the kitchen. They were cooking fried chicken. It smelled delicious when we were there in person. We also went in further and looked like it was a dining area. Next up, the crew's messroom. It looked like another dining area but with a radio to lighten the mood. There was also a very small reception room while we walked along the deck. We then went to look at their very large, room-sized freezer. I had to stay out since we might get trapped inside! Here's the best part, we were now seeing the engine room of the ship! It was around 4 p.m. at this time. That's the largest engine I've seen in my life so far! It was also pretty noisy and loud in and around the engine room area. While walking around the engine room, we found like a large vent, venting out very strong winds. I had a bit of fun being in the near-hurricane force winds! We then walked back into the main engine room and then into the room where the fuel tank of the ship was located at. That wall you see is actually the whole fuel tank! After seeing the fuel tank, we went back out again into the main engine room, looked around more of the special mechanical stuff including the loud generator! Speaking of the generator, this was the time though when my camera ran out of battery. (Not shown in video) After my camera died, we went to walk right by the generator, we had to cover our ears since it was super loud. We then climbed up a steep flight of stairs to see the main engine up close. Then we climbed more steep stairs and went out of the engine room. It was pretty warm in that room by the way. Our last stop was another room by the engine room. It shows more of the engine controls. Then by 4:40ish p.m., we headed back to the office of my cousin's to chill a bit more. We saw a cargo ship leave the port as well as seeing the big machines continue to transport the large container "big rig" things. Later, coming 5ish p.m., we decided to call it a day since we were trying to catch up with the last shuttle bus so we can get back to our car. However it was already nearing 5:20 p.m. when we went out to the gangway. We didn't see any bus so we went back in to avoid the cold. At least we saw a small gym room while we waited a bit. Then we got a notice to head back out quickly to the gangway. Then by 5:22 p.m., we finally were off the ship. We headed to a small building and waited for someone to come pick us up. But unluckily, we didn't get any contact to drive us there. At least we got to enjoy last minute views around the port. I got to see what was also inside this small building. It looked like another lounge of some sort. And finally, after a few more minutes, we saw like 3 trucks arrive! We all rode on all 3. It literally felt like we were rescued! I was riding by myself, my dad by himself and my mom and sis together on the last truck. It was still a bit raining. It was an awesome experience that we saw the inside of a cargo ship. Not just any cargo ship. It's The Bai Chay Bridge, the ship where my cousin Schubert works in!

• published: 16 Mar 2012
• views: 3883