Question 1777 Deck Safety

The correct answer is D) increase in free surface which reduces the metacentric height. The reasoning is that when fighting a fire in a watertight compartment using hoses and salt water, the free surface effect caused by the water movement in the compartment will reduce the metacentric height (GM) of the vessel. This reduction in GM can negatively impact the vessel's stability. The other answer choices do not directly address the impact on stability from free surface effect in a watertight compartment during firefighting operations.