Acts 27:6

At Myra Julius transferred his party to another ship bound for Italy. This was a grain ship (Acts 27:38) that had accommodations for at least 276 passengers (Acts 27:37). There were no ships devoted exclusively to passenger travel at this time. [Note: Witherington, p. 759.] Its port of origin was Alexandria, the capital of Egypt. Egypt was the major supplier of grain for Italy. A large fleet of these ships sailed between Egypt and Italy along the coast of Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor carrying food. According to a contemporary description, these large ships were usually 180 feet long, 50 feet wide, and 44 feet deep from the deck to the hold. [Note: Lionel Casson, Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World, pp. 158-59.]