MarkC

I got a faceful of ammonia once - carrying a full cargo of the stuff (6000 cubic metres of it) and on a short voyage involving cooling it down whilst en route, so it was important to keep all cargo plant running at maximum capacity in order to attain desired discharge temperature without delays. Normal practice. Anyway, we developed a leak at a joint on a line in one of the 3 compressor units. I did a risk assessment and decided, in conjunction with the Master and Chief Officer, that a repair could safely be done by isolating the affected unit, purging the pipeline and then removing the affected pipe, repairing it, then refitting it and restarting the unit. This was possible because I would have 2 valve separation from all 'live' pipework. I even lashed the necessary valves shut and tagged them. It was a procedure well accepted and should have been perfectly safe. So, I'm busy with the job, having proved the line was depressurised and liquid free before dismantling, and am about to replace the affected pipe when I hear the sound that nobody should hear - the sound of something under pressure coming down the open line... I tried to get clear, but was a fraction too late, and was struck by a jet of ammonia. The pain was awful - I managed, pretty much blind, to stagger to fresh air and the emergency shower, but my body wasn't wanting to breathe in any more air, as I had received a lungful of vapour and I suppose it was a natural instinct not to want any more... Anyway, assistance arrived quickly, and my sight returned after copious flushing with fresh water. It took a while to feel OK though. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. Horrendous. What had happened? The Chief Officer, forgetting what was going on, despite his having been in agreement with the procedure, had decided that he wanted to change the popeline configuration, and removed the lashings and opened the valves... Needless to say, the Master fired him on the spot and he was off immediately on arrrival at our discharge port. I was very, very lucky

My preaent ship is one of a class of Ethylene carriers whose lead vessel was Lloyds' Ship of the Year in 2008, because of a system on board which would allow for on board recovery of most LPG vapour which would normally be simply vented to atmosphere during grade changes. This vapour wiuld be reliquified in the normal way and the liquid stored in a couple of deck tanks until it was used to power one of the gensets. When I took over the ship from the previous owners in early 2016 I asked about this; appaently it was tested during commissioning trials in 2009 and never used again. Having looked carefully at the system, I wouldn't want to use it either... Regarding LNG fuel operation - I have been Chief on 2 such ships; indeed I did the LNG commissioning of the first one. It's excellent - the safety systems are very good. Of course, as an experienced 'gas man', safety of such systems and management of risk is second nature - we have to have additional training and certification before being allowed to operate LPG/LNG tankers, but what does concern me and my colleagues is that many non-tanker wessels are now moving to LNG propulsion, and as yet there is no formal gas training required for the crews of these ships

Hi Duncan. There were no issues with the prop, shaft or bearings after either incident. TBH, both were things that could happen to any ship - the fire was caused by a fractured lub oil pipe that sprayed oil up behind the exhaust shrouding on a running engine. Lagging got soaked with oil; once the oil reached auto-ignition temperature there was an explosion - the fireball went across the generator flat and ignited 20 years of accumulated dust and dirt on the cable trays.

Just one of those things - more scary was the time just over 5 years later on the same ship, when the fire alarms sounded at 0124... On reaching the Control Room, all I could see through the window into the Engine Room were some VERY large flames... That was in 2003 - that ship only went for scrap in June of last year, aged 39. Yes, the rudder was found - after 6 weeks of searching by the US Corps of Engineers

Crash astern movements - my best one was going up the Delaware to Marcus Hook. We had just passed a nuclear power station when we lost steering. We were doing 16 knots through the water at the time. Long story, but full sea speed to full astern in one smooth telegraph swing (ship had Bridge Control) made for some interesting noises from the Sulzer 5RLA56... Brought up to anchor without grounding or hitting anything - when the divers arrived, we discovered that the rudder had actually fallen off.. Oh, and we had 6,600 cubic metres of LPG on board...

Been there...done that...too many times

After 17 months of hell, I persuaded my Company to run our MAN 7L16/24s only on MGO, rather than HFO, despite the additional costs. Since then, during the last 9 months, maintenance costs - spares and (lots of) man hours - have fallen dramatically. They're still horrible machines though

I don't remember exhaust cages, but Eildon's engines only burnt MGO. Horrible engines nevertheless

Funnily enough, I have just finished reading that book - it mainly centred around a chap who started off at Neyland shed. It's called "Behind the Steam" by Bill Morgan and Bette Meyrick. It's a good read

This one, Neil http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=606593

Former LMS men didn't acknowledge the 4 either

Eildon's were 150kW/cylinder, iirc

Crepelle gensets? Aargh . I experienced those beasties on a ship named "Eildon", built at La Ciotat as "Etienne Schlumberger". They confirmed that there are 3 ways of doing a job - the right way, the wrong way...and the French way

As does Groundhog Day...

What do we say? Things that aren't suitable for a family-friendly forum - and in several languages, as we are cunning linguists

Meh! My comment was posted from my phone, which appears to have been too smart for its own good... Worse things happen at sea though...

Well, having returned home, I have just watched the series. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well done to all concerned, especially the members of this parish who were involved. Well, having returned home, I have just watched the series. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well done to all concerned, especially the members of this parish who were involved.

Some of the best Engineers I sailed with whilst 'climbing the greasy pole' myself were so-called 'professional 3rds and 2nds'. They were the true 'go to' guys if you wanted to expand your knowledge, and I will always recall the ones I sailed with, with respect and thanks. I hope that in my own small way I too have educated and inspired my own staff since attaining senior rank. (It's 28 years this week since I was first appointed Chief Engineer - it seems so recent too; that's scary!)

Nono, he shouldn't - it would affect the future...

Nah - "Finished with Engines" was when we engineers went to the bar!

A bit like the old way of tuning up radio transmitter antennas before solid state auto tuners came in was described then - "Tune for maximum smoke!"

Another big change has been materials - we now see engines putting out twice the power of an equivalent physical sized engine from only, yes, 30 years or so ago. Higher charging air pressures, and thus the ability to burn more fuel for a given swept volume, have been possible because of stronger, lighter materials. Then there's the developments in fuel injection equipment etc. . That's just simple oil burners. Then there's the shift to LNG, which is another story altogether. It's fascinating stuff.

The Aussies would describe 67340 as "a bit of a fugly", I think. You're right, Mike, the extended tanks do nothing for the aesthetics...

Having witnessed and heard some of the muppetry, stupidity and c0ckw0mblery that can occur at sea over collision avoidance, sometimes I believe that automation would be a good thing... ...then I wonder how a computer would, for example, tackle having to open up a main engine cylinder in a big seaway when something meaningful has broken - and such things can and do happen on the most well-run and operated ships...and how much redundancy do you need to build into an unmanned deep sea vessel?... ...and realise that as long as I'm still sailing with navigating officers still worthy of the name, then I conclude that it could be a LOT worse