The ship's office said... - Tradução em português

[Albert Rocha]

"They discovered that one ship, the Tsarina Catherine, sailed that morning from London for the Black Sea. The ship's office said that, at the last minute, a man put a box on the ship. He paid a lot of money."

Se o texto fosse "The ship's officer said..." ou "In the ship's office said...", eu entenderia, mas do que jeito que está no livro não.

[Bryan Philpott]

É metonímia por um responsável de gestão da carga da nave.

"O Palácio do Planalto disse que..."

"Ship's Office" is sometimes used like "Main Office" or "Head Office" (in corporate language) to describe a central administrative department of a large Navy or merchant vessel.