I went onboard the largest container ship to ever use an East Coast port and found a visual representation of American spending during the pandemic

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Ocean shipping has been thrust into the limelight during the shipping crisis as the public now realizes the critical role of container ships in keeping the world's economy functioning smoothly.

The backlog of container ships waiting to enter Southern California ports is spreading across the US, as Americans buy more and more goods. And the rising tide of consumerism during the pandemic has lifted all ports, including those on the US East Coast.

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In May, the CMA CGM Marco Polo became the largest ship to ever call the East Coast. The Port of New York and New Jersey was the first American stop on a long voyage from Asia that was previously impossible for a ship of its size.

CMA CGM Marco Polo boasts a maximum capacity of 16,022 twenty-foot-equivalent units, or TEUs for short. One 20-foot container equals one TEU with the larger 40-foot containers equaling two TEUs.

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The Bayonne Bridge guarding Newark Bay only had clearance for 12,500-TEU ships until 2019. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey elevated the roadway connecting Bayonne, New Jersey and Staten Island, New York in a $1.7 billion project to accommodate ships as large as 18,000 TEUs, just in time for the unforeseen pandemic.

It didn't take long for the ships calling the port to grow larger in size. The 15,072-TEU CMA CGM Brazil arrived at the port in September 2020, soon followed by the Marco Polo in May 2021.

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Insider went onboard the CMA CGM Marco Polo while it was docked in New Jersey. Here's what it's like onboard.

A long, narrow gangway is the only way on or off the Marco Polo for anything that isn't a container. It's a long way up as the gangway sways with the weight of people on it.

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Registered in the Bahamas, the CMA CGM Marco Polo is a nine-year-old ship delivered to the Marseille, France-based shipping giant in November 2012.

Hallways run the length of the ship's massive tower with rooms on each side.

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Our tour began in the ship's office, also known as the cargo office, where we met Captain Zeljko Mioc.

The Croatian captain has served in the maritime industry for more than 30 years, traversing the globe on container ships. Before that, he worked issuing airplane tickets at an airport.

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Marco Polo started this voyage in China, with the crossing via the Suez Canal taking around three weeks with a port call in Halifax, Canada before arriving in New York Harbor.

Passing through the Suez Canal was normal, the crew described, even just a few weeks after the Ever Given had run aground and blocked the path for other ships.

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The next stop was the bridge, located on the top floor of the tower. Luckily, there was an elevator in addition to the main stairwell to take us up.

Directories identify the areas of interest on each floor, helping the crew find their way around the ship.

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Like a hotel, the higher floors of the tower houses the crew bunks and staterooms for the ship’s officers. The higher the floor, the greater the rank of the crewmember.

The captain and chief engineer reside on "G deck," for example, directly below the bridge.

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With the amount of time the average crewmember spends on the ship, it's likely that they'll soon know its directory by heart.

Many of the rooms contain office-like workspaces with plenty of open space inside.

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The corridors are largely identical but some feature artwork to break up the monotony including a print of Vincent Van Gogh's "The Starry Night."

Posters on the staircase leading up the bridge are also reminiscent of old airline advertisements highlighting exotic locals that this ship visits on a yearly basis.

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The very top floor of the tower is the "navigation deck" which houses the bridge, also known as the wheelhouse, from where the ship is piloted.

Views from the bridge are expansive with a line of sight for miles on a clear day, helping the crew navigate and monitor other ships in their vicinity.

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Even the New York City skyline was visible clear as day from the berth around five miles away.

The navigation deck is the limit for the containers as anything stack higher might impede the crew's line of sight.

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A maximum of seven cranes, each taller than the ship itself, serviced the ship during its time in New Jersey.

Trucks wait alongside the ship to receive their containers and then bring them elsewhere in the port where they'll be transferred to tractor-trailers.

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Longshoremen sitting 200 feet off of the ground pluck the containers off the ship one by way in a fluid motion that takes a surprisingly short amount of time given their weight.

Back in the bridge, a small steering wheel is tasked with maneuvering the massive ship.

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But unlike in days past, there doesn't always have to be someone with both hands on the wheel.

Track pilot allows the ship to virtually drive itself, similarly to autopilot on an airplane.

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The bridge is comparable to the cockpit of an airplane and many of the same gestures can be found in both. The difference is that a ship's bridge is around 10 times the size of an average airplane cockpit.

Electronic charts help the crew navigate, just like on modern airplanes. "Before we had paper charts and now everything is electronic," Mioc said.

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A black line on the chart shows the ship's path for the past 24 hours. In Marco Polo's case, it arrived in New York Harbor and made a loop around the Statue of Liberty.

On the side of the screen is a gauge that identifies the wind direction and its speed. Ships the size of the Marco Polo have a wind sail that can affect their course, especially while sitting idle at anchor.

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Depth is another important factor since the ship can run aground if the water is too shallow.

Even with the conversion to digital, shelves in the bridge still store paper-bound charts, manuals, and other necessities.

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Some charts, like posters, are taped up to the walls for easy reference.

Very high-frequency radios, or VHF radios for short, allow the ship to communicate with others in the immediate area as well as harbor pilots. Ships have come a long way from sending messages via Morse code.

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Two types of radar, H-band and S-band help the Marco Polo avoid other ships, especially in times of poor visibility. S-band is the long-distance radar that helps the ship see beyond just its immediate area while H-band is better for shorter distances.

H-band is also better at receiving distress signals from other vessels and is a maritime requirement. Mioc has never had to attend to a distress call as a captain but did say that he has found himself in "distress situations."

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In the center of the console is a general compass while above is the magnetic compass.

Instruments above the windows also give the pilot key information like engine rotations per minute and the rate of turn.

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Only two crew members are typically in the bridge while the ship is in open ocean, Mioc said.

The captain, most times, is traversing the ship and checking to see that its operation is running smoothly.

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Cameras around the ship also let the captain see everything that's going on.

But while the captain doesn't spend most of his days on the bridge, he will be present during times including periods of bad weather, intense vessel traffic, or maneuvering.

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The bridge also features a small kitchenette with a coffee maker.

And just beside the kitchenette is a small dining room-style table.

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Crews spend a few days in each port before moving on to the next one, with sea journeys often taking weeks.

After New York, the next stop for Marco Polo was Charleston, South Carolina where it also broke records.

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The life of a mariner can be filled with travel but there can be periods of extreme boredom while at sea.

Each mariner has a job to do while on the ship but once workers are off the clock, they're still bound to the ship while it's on the water.

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There is a gymnasium and recreation room on the boat but we didn't have time to see either on the visit.

East Coast ports have largely been spared from the backlogs affecting those in Southern California. But experts say it's only a matter of time before more ports see lines of ships waiting to enter.

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"I think we'll see [backlogs] regardless of the coast," Nathan Strang, Flexport's director of ocean trade lane management, told Insider, noting East Coast ports like the Port of Savannah are experiencing backlogs.

Marco Polo's record-breaking voyage to the Port of New York and New Jersey might soon be smashed by an even larger ship.

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It's the new reality in ocean shipping as more and more skyscraper-like ships seek to move hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of containers between continents every day.