I’ve been taking advantage of the seasonal slow-down in my architecture and design shoots to spend more time shooting at the many seaports here in the San Francisco Bay and Delta. Basically being a 9-year-old boy at heart, the biggest ships have a particular pull on me, so I watched the ship movements and set my alarm to get myself up and out early enough yesterday to make the hour and twenty minute drive to the Port of Oakland to catch this big beauty on her way out. It was a busy morning at the Port of Oakland—there were four big ship moves between about 3am and 10am. The first two were in the dark, and there are rules about (not) flying drones in the dark, so I skipped those (regretted that later—looked like it was a nice sunrise) but was here for this.
ONE (Ocean Network Express) was a merger of shipping lines NYK, MOL, and K-Line formed in 2016, and based in Japan. The distinctive magenta color of these ships’ hulls is a nod to the famous cherry blossoms of Japan, which are a national symbol of the country.
A ship of this size usually enlists the help of four harbor assist tugs—in this case, the AmNav Patricia Ann, Sandra Hugh, Z Three, and Jamie Renea.
On the bridge, San Francisco Bar Pilot unit 59, Captain William Benedict, is in charge. (Unit 59 switched with another pilot after the turning basin, but I didn’t catch the number).