The President Truman, sister ship of the President Jackson, outside the Golden Gate bridge.

Captain Donald M. Moore, Jr. has an exciting job with a lot of responsibility. He is the Captain of the President Jackson, a huge ship that sails the seas loaded with thousands of cargo containers. The President Jackson is a type of ship called a C-10. It is considered “post-Panamax,” because it is too wide to go through the Panama Canal. Captain Moore has been in command of the President Jackson since it was first launched in 1988.

Captain Moore has been an APL ship captain since 1973. He started his career by graduating from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and then serving as a junior officer on a number of ships. Over the course of nine years, he took graduate classes and studied for exams from the U.S. Coast Guard. By taking these courses and exams, Captain Moore was able to become a Third Mate, then a Second Mate, then a Chief Mate, and finally his current title: Master, Any Gross Tons, Ocean. This is the top license issued to ship deck officers and qualifies him to command any size ship in any ocean of the world.

Captain Moore describes his top challenge as keeping the ship, its crew, and its cargo safe during all kinds of weather. Traveling across the Pacific Ocean between Asia and the United States can be challenging because of serious storms. It’s Captain Moore’s job to track the weather every day — whether he’s in port or out in the middle of the ocean — and then make sure that the President Jackson keeps well away from dangerous storms.

How do you think a captain of a ship at sea tracks the weather and learns whether a storm is moving in? Download this case study and you can help Captain Moore navigate the sea!