PSC, Class, Flag. Passing inspections without problems for an ETO

Greetings! I present to your attention the final article on inspections of systems and mechanisms on a vessel, in which the ship's ETO is involved in one way or another.

In this article I will try to collect the most important points that an electrician needs to know to successfully pass any inspection (PSC, Class, Flag). Here I will collect general recommendations that will be useful for electricians and engineers of different types of ships, but of course there are some nuances that I may not know about, so if you have something to share, then write in the comments to the article.

Diesel Generator Protections. A Quick Check for an Inspector

Greetings! In this article, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with the main protections of diesel generators on a ship, which inspectors like to check. There are many protections on ship diesel generators and one article is not enough to consider them all, so only the main protections will be described, which are most often demonstrated when passing a particular check.

Using the example of the Daihatsu 6DE-18 diesel engine and the Taiyo FE 647A-8 brushless synchronous generator, we will consider the protection of marine diesel generators and how to test them. Other most common diesel engines (Himsen, Yanmar, MAN B&W) found in the merchant marine fleet will also be partially covered.

Checking protections of the main air compressors

Greetings! I continue to write articles on checking the protection of various mechanisms on a ship and this time we will consider the compressors of the starting air of the main engine. Usually, they are of no interest to inspectors, but there are exceptions.

In this article, we will consider the main protections of the main air compressors that directly concern electricians. Let's take Japanese TANABE compressors as an example.

Boiler safety devices. A quick check for the surveyor

Greetings! In this article I recommend that you familiarize yourself with the main safety devices of auxiliary boiler on a ship that inspectors like to check. It does not matter which inspector came to the ship (PSC, flag, annual surveyor, etc.), usually the checks are not much different.

Surveyors mainly look at how critical protections work (selectively), i.e. those protections that stop the boiler (shutdown protection). They are not very concerned with auxiliary signals (alarms). But it is necessary to be prepared for everything, i.e. for the fact that the inspector can check the auxiliary alarms of the boiler. 

Low insulation 440V and refrigeration chambers on a ship

Greetings! Low insulation 440V has appeared, but this time it is difficult to detect because insulation appears for a short time and disappears. After two days of observations, it turned out that low insulation comes out twice a day, usually at lunchtime and at night.

Low insulation 440V and refrigeration chambers on a ship

We also noticed that when low insulation 440V comes out, the temperature of the meat refrigeration (freezer) chamber goes to INHIB in the alarm monitoring system in the ECR. 

UPS fail. Main engine automatic backup does not work. Kongsberg Troubleshooting

The UPS fail error occurred and the final system for protecting the main engine against automatic power failure failed. A BMS AC220V UPS FAIL alarm appeared on the alarm monitoring system in the ECR. BMS - Bridge maneuvering system.

BMS AC220V UPS FAIL

In simple words, the uninterruptible power supply (UPS), which is designed for the normal operation of the automatic control system of the main engine during the transition of the ship's electrical station from main to emergency power, has stopped working.

High temperature. The thermocouple on the engine has failed. Kongsberg Troubleshooting

The No. 1 auxiliary engine has activated a high exhaust temperature alarm. In this article we will analyze the actions of electrical engineer to find and fix these problems.

In the exhaust system on the engine there are two thermocouples that measure the temperature at two points (A and B), these points correspond to their group of cylinders. The values at both points should be approximately equal (at 500°C), but the thermocouple at point B showed a temperature of 620°C and it continued to rise on the AMS monitor.

Alarm Measuring System on the ship

1. The electronic and alarm measuring systems are designed for centralized supervision of processes on board ships.

2. Such systems are designed to meet the special requirements in marine applications.

3. The design of the alarm systems comprises a limited number of standard modules, and offers an economical and flexible solution for all system sizes — from small alarm systems with a few channels, to complex systems with data logging and alarm print-out functions.

4. The signals from analog and digital transducers are processed in the system and allow for simple and clear monitoring of process activities. The occurrance of abnormal conditions initiates audible and visual alarm signals.

Operation of Alarm Measuring Systems on vessels

Measuring systems. Analog transducers which sense temperatures, pressures, etc., in the process are connected to the system. The transducer output may be current, voltage or resistance. The input signal is filtered and normalized to a defined voltage level in the system.

The normalized measured value is connected across the system bus to the display unit when the push-button for manual measuring in the front of a module is depressed. The signal is scaled to its correct value before A/D conversion and presentation on the digital display with the correct number of decimals.

Modules of Alarm Measuring System

The typical electronic system comprises modules which are designed for mounting in the control room desk or in a cabinet front. Here are standard modules: alarm measuring module, display module, selector module, bridge panel, cabin and mess panel, power distribution unit, central unit for data logging and alarm print-out.

These modules are identical in electrical and mechanical design. The modules are made of sheet steel and are provided with ventilation holes. The internal wiring is provided with a printed circuit backplate, i. e. the "mother board", and ribbon cable. The front can be removed, and the electric boards can be inserted from the front.