You are on the SS American Mariner and involved in a collision. Your draft has increased uniformly and there is about 4 feet of freeboard remaining. The vessel is on an even keel and has a long rolling period. The roll is sluggish, and the vessel hangs at the ends of a roll. Which of the following actions would you take First to correct the situation?

Correct Answer: Option D — Pump out flooding water in the cargo holds to reduce free surface.

A long, sluggish roll with hanging at roll extremes signifies dangerously high transverse GM caused by massive free surface effect within flooded cargo holds. Pumping out the floodwater removes the primary free surface hazard and restores proper righting energy.