Complex sentence: The weather was bad and by the time the steamer was at sea a full storm was raging; the wind caused the cargo on deck to shift, some of it falling overboard, further destabilizing the ship.
Split into simpler sentences: The weather was very bad and by the time the steamer was at sea a full storm was raging. The wind caused the cargo on deck to shift, some of it went overboard which further destabilized the ship.