What does Acts 27:6 mean?

Julius is a centurion of the Roman army. He has been tasked with bringing a group of prisoners from Caesarea Maritima to Rome. He boarded a ship in Caesarea which sailed north to Sidon. The ship then swung around the northeast corner of the island of Cyprus and hugged the shadow of the mountains on the southern coast of modern-day Turkey. They then landed in Myra. Myra is a good choice to find a ship to Rome. It sits directly north of Alexandria, Egypt, which is the major provider of grain for Rome.

The average Alexandrian grain ship is up to 180 by 50 feet, or about 55 by 15 meters, in size. These vessels are about nearly as tall from the deck to the bottom of the hold as they are wide. At the time Luke writes this account, Rome has well over a million residents; the city consumes around 175,000 tons, or 160 million kilograms, of grain a year. Because of the importance of the cargo, grain ships often hire security; it may be Julius takes this vessel as part of a second job. Or, since centurions do not normally transport prisoners, this may be his original intent.

Julius finds a suitable ship in Myra for his soldiers and his prisoners. Among the incarcerated are Paul and Aristarchus; Luke is traveling with them. After ignoring Paul's warning once, Julius learns to trust Paul. Because of that trust, though the sailors will lose their ship and all their cargo (Acts 27:18–19, 38, 41), everyone will survive (Acts 27:22, 43–44).