Without giving anything away about the plot, the ship is a Panamax – the largest class of ship that can traverse the Panama Canal. Does anyone know if these vessels can "lurch" enough to throw a person off their balance?
Search turns up this discussion of aircraft carrier stability https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/kbe884/do_aircraft_carriers_bob_violently_in_bad_weather/
There are plenty of reports of how much a ship can roll and containers getting washed overboard, but I have not found any mention of the kind of sudden jolt that could really knock things around onboard.
by nickelundertone