the tanks weren't full, I imagine they
were three-quarters full....we had been carrying cargo and there was gas in the tanks....if
we got hit when they were empty, there was more oxygen than there would be in a full
tanker, so a fire would happen much more readily....she had as much ballast as she
could take....the engineroom and the bow would keep her afloat....you can't do that normally
if the seas are heavy, or when you expect bad weather, but she was in the Caribbean,
and the Caribbean was very calm at that time....