Mega ship

The Benjamin Franklin, the largest ship ever to dock in North America, arrived in Seattle yesterday.  Look how it dwarfs that ferry boat!

The ship is 200 feet tall and almost a quarter mile long, about the length of two Space Needles end-on-end.  It traveled up the coast from California, where it cleared the Golden Gate Bridge by only 20 feet.

This is a big deal for west coast ports, showing they can handle ships this large. It holds almost 20,000 containers, and this one is filled with expensive electronics for stores like Target and Best Buy.  After they empty it, which only takes a few hours, it will load up with apples, lumber and whatever else we still export from the Northwest.

I watched a news segment this week about Puget Sound Pilots, a group of elite mariners.  They've been training for several months on simulators to be ready to guide the ship in. The "stored energy" of a floating skyscraper could do incredible damage, even at a very slow speed. That's the simple physics.

The master pilot boarded the ship in Port Angeles, and then guided the monster through crowded Puget Sound waters to dock in Seattle.  Experienced pilots make around $400,000 a year, but what a responsibility. The cargo alone can be worth billions of dollars.  

CLICK HERE for the link to the KING TV News story about the pilot training.This guy looks like he earns his pay.