Stability Questions

The Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) on 03 July questioned the port captain of Sulpicio Lines Capt. Benjamin Eugenio regarding the stability of the M/V Princess of the Stars when it set sail last June 20 after it was discovered that two of the ship's ballasts were empty. Based on the stability report of the M/V Princess of the Stars before it sailed, the ballast tanks of the ship were not filled to its capacity. The Port Captain said "Some have to be empty to accommodate cargo."

Source: Shiptalk News dated July 4, 2003

Personal Note: It is basic seafarer’s knowledge to know the consequence of this action. For the benefit of those who are not seafarers in the class - a ship with unfilled ballasts may find it hard to stabilize if slammed with strong winds. But my biggest question is how can the Port Captain allow the ship to be loaded with toxic cargo in a passenger ship and more so to allow it to leave port with facts given above and more so under a determinable amount of risk involved because of a predetermined bad, bad weather condition?