Port at night

This was taken on a rainy night. There was no filter or post processing. The only change is a resize for the forum constraints.

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What am I looking at? The only thing I can really make out is the fence in front of the camera. I don't see any sign of a subject

If you could have got beyond the fence, there may have been better opportunities, sadly this version doesn't quite work.

There is no way to get to the other side of the fence, even the roads there are private land on which photography is prohibited (You are meant to have a pass to drive there) i have photographed around there myself but be careful i have heard stories of the security there letting down your tyres or denting your car.

What I find intriguing is number of seemingly incongruous things going on.
The detail of the hull on the closest ship on the left, you can see the individual plates the hull is made of. The flaring of the channel marker lights, don't understand how that effect happened. The detail of the containers of the ship on the right.
If all you are seeing is the fence, you are missing the point. When you are in a situation like this do you look at the fence or what is beyond it

Exactly the issue. There is too much going on with no real subject. All of those elements that you described are fighting for the viewers attention.

If all we are seeing is the fence, we ARE missing the point! Which shows that image doesn't give us a direct path to one. If I was in this situation I probably would concentrate on the fence, using a shallow DOF, I would use the negative light of the fence against the colourful OOF background to create the image. After that I might focus in to the separate elements that you had already mention.

As for this, there is too much going on with no real focus, or subject.