Well, I just got home from 45 days at sea. My company has terminated the contract with my union due to “commercial pressures” and the Americans aboard have been replaced with Croatian officers and Filipino crew. The recrewing of my last ship, the LNG Libra, took place on the 13th of January.
Thought some of you might like a look at different parts of a ship, so I snapped a few photos.
Here’s the ship taking some weather. The ship is 969 feet long, a 900# steam plant, 35,000HP carrying 125,000 cubic meters of LNG, liquid natural gas. That’s mostly methane, with a splash of propane, butane, etc. thrown in, depending on where it’s refined.
Our trade route was loading in Indonesia and discharging in various ports in Japan.
Marine Engineer
Replies
Did you ever fear for your life out there?
Be landlubberin'
Jon Blakemore
I don't think I've ever really thought I was going to die, but there have been times when things got a little hairy. There was a big storm and we took such a severe roll that the turbogenerator lost oil suction and tripped, and we were in the dark at 0200 in some weather. Stuff like thatMarine Engineer
I'll start with the cargo system. The cargo is LNG and there are two ways to transport it: under pressure at room temperature, or at low pressure but cold. We go with the latter. The cargo is carried at approx -158ºC and at 16 psia (that's absolute pressure, about 2# or so gauge).
Here's a few pics of the manifold, the chiksan arms, the cargo compressor and boil off heater. Notice the snow on the pipes.
Marine Engineer
The cargo operations are controlled in the CCR (cargo control room). On the cargo console, you'll see small black rheostats. These control the opening and closing of the cargo valves.The rheostats send a 4-20 mA signal to an I/P transducer at the top of the tank. This changes the miliamp signal into a proportional 3-15 psi air signal, which goes to a valve positioner. This positioner opens and closes the valve in proportion to the command signal.You may be wondering about sending an electric signal to a valve containing methane. The signal is what we call "intrinsically safe" which means there's not enough electricity in the wire, even at worst case scenario, to make the cargo go boom.This is as opposed to "explosion proof" which means the electricity could make the cargo go boom, but the cargo is kept away from the electricity by segregation (gaskets, proper junction boxes, etc.)Marine Engineer
A few things out on deck: anchor windlass, chain going into the hausepipe, an ansul unit (dry chemical fire extinguisher), one of our lifeboats.We have an expression: coming up through the hausepipe. This means that an officer didn't go to a maritime academy, but worked his way up through the unlicensed department, and after aquiring enough sea time, took and passed his license exam.Marine Engineer
Now down to the engine room, my domain.Here's the operating station, our burner management computer (it's a x386 running a DOS program), the switchboard.Marine Engineer
How was the food
How was the food
well, our cook's nickname was "the undertaker" so you can do the math. For Christmas dinner he served "rock lobster" and that wasn't due to the species of lobster.
Marine Engineer
The main shaft, the reduction gear and one of the main turbines.The High speed and Low speed turbines spin at several thousand RPM and are reduced to about 90 RPM via the reduction gear. The torque is then transmitted to the propeller through the main shaft which is about 2 foot diameter solid steel.Marine Engineer
Maybe I missed it, but what's your fuel? Do you just burn some of your cargo in those turbines?didI like ice cream
what's your fuel? Do you just burn some of your cargo in those turbines?
we burn some of the cargo in order to control the temps/pressures in the cargo tanks, and we supplement as necessary with black oil. I think it's one grade up from bunker C.
2 years ago they had us burn less cargo and more oil. This past May they decided to burn more cargo and less oil. Guess it all depends on whether oil or gas is cheaper.
Marine Engineer
Cool, thanks. I guess you can burn just about anything in a turbine, so hey, go with whatever's cheapest.didI like ice cream
This is the engine order telegraph, where we can take RPM orders from the bridge, if the throttle is in engine room control. We normally run in bridge control, which means we engineers can drink coffee and tell sea stories while maneuvering.Marine Engineer
The cargo is constantly absorbing heat, and we have to deal with this. LNG is considered an "active cargo" as opposed to, say, crude oil or containers. The cargo will rise in pressure and temperature if we don't intervene.We use compressors to send the "boil off" gas to the engineroom, to be burned in the boilers.Here's a picture of the inside of the boiler while burning only gas. Methane produces no soot or smoke, it's the cleanest burning hydrocarbon.The periscope is a series of mirrors so as to view the observation window in the stack down on the operating platform, to monitor the exhaust from the stack. When we burn heavy oil, we occasionally get smoke. And if we smoke in the wrong place, we can get fined (such as against the quay in San Fransico)Marine Engineer
ha ha, I like that engine order telegraph!
Did anyone else notice one level above "full ahead"
or
One level below "full astern"?
Someone with a sense of humor on the ship. Doesn't sound like English is gonna be the native tongue anymore on that ship. Neat pics.
Did you have a good workshop on the ship?jt8
Did you have a good workshop on the ship?
the machine shop was pretty good. Floor drill press, a rather large lathe, pedestal grider/wire wheel, oxy/acetelene torch, arc welder, plasma cutter, metal chop saw, hydraulic press, and a large variety of hand tools, chain falls, etc. Pretty much the resources to do the work that is required of us.
Occasionally they'll bring on specialists for certain jobs, such as certified shipyard welders for a crack in the 900# steam piping to the main turbine.
We carry a lot of spare parts aboard, but when you're out in the middle of the ocean, you can't go to a big box to pick up something you need, so sometimes you have to be creative to solve problems, machining the part you need or whatnot.
Marine Engineer
Ok did anybody else see the "warp drive" and the "oh s.h.i.t" ?
some one been messin' with the riggin'"Sir, if you were my husband I would poison your tea"
"Madam, if I were your husband I would drink it." Sir Winston Churchhill
I saw it Jet and got a big kick out of it.
blueJust because you can, doesn't mean you should!
Warning! Be cautious when taking any framing advice from me. There are some in here who think I'm a hackmeister...they might be right! Of course, they might be wrong too!
Jet: Of course I saw it! I'm surprised that anyone else in the world has such a whacked out sense of humor. Sounds like some of the stuff I've done - or tried to do, but some officious, stuffed shirt spring butt stopped me because it "wasn't professional," or words to that effect.DonThe GlassMasterworks - If it scratches, I etch it!
I has been 40 years since I have been around an expolssion proof stuff.But my understanding is that it is not sealed to keep out the expolisive gases or powders. That is too hard to do.But rather the pathway from the inside to the outside is long enough that any explosion within the device will cool off enough that it won't ignite anything outside of the device.
There are different types of explosion proof techniques. We are required to carry explosion proof flashlights, which are sealed with O-rings and what not, and they have a spring between the bulb and the lens, which keeps the bulb in contact with the batteries. If the lens breaks, the bulb pops out. So my Mag lite is taboo, because you can turn it on even when the lens is screwed off.Often on the peckerhead of some motors (don't know if this is the proper term; where the power cables are attached to the motor cables) there are intentional gaps in the cover, in which a flame will burn out before reaching the outside of the cover.But on outside motors they have to be watertight, and are sealed with gaskets.On the junction boxes for the cargo pumps, the junction box itself is constantly inerted with Nitrogen. We have nitrogen generators onboard, which is another really cool concept: the molecular sieve. It's a sieve that lets tiny nitrogen molecules through, but not CO2 or O2 molecules. Way cool.Marine Engineer
Nice pics and information about life on a ship ( I was gonna say boat, but I do know better)
A friend of mine served on a nuclear sub ( That's a boat ), with some interesting tales.
This is an area where I have zero experience, and very little knowledge of. Thanks for sharing.
Another fascinating aspect of the operation is the cargo pumps themselves. They're huge, and are inside the tanks at the bottom, completely immersed in the liquid methane.We remove one side of the fire triangle, the oxygen, and the pumps operate in a "too rich" atmosphere for combustion.Marine Engineer
Have you seen the ads in some magazines picturing "Sam Signh"? Master of a LNG ship? Bald as a billiard; smiling like a loon. Wonder if he's the guy that took over your ship.Really interesting - thanks for the photos. Beats the Heck out of the amenities aboard the ships that haul bulk ammunition for Uncle Sam. They define the term "Rustbucket."Looks like they have lotsa space for the amenities due to the large, bulky geometry required for the cargo containers. Galley looks pretty nice. How large is the crew? DonThe GlassMasterworks - If it scratches, I etch it!
I have seen that advertisment. That guy was an Indian sailing on a Shell ship with 4 balls. We had 5 balls. We have T-shirts that say, "It takes Aluminum Balls to Deliver LNG"Our Crew was 28; the crew that replaced us was 35 or so. Filipinos are much cheaper.Marine Engineer
Thanks for sharing all of that.
Thanks for sharing all of that.
You're quite welcome. At Rhodefest, people seemed quite interested in what I did, how it all worked, so I thought that the next time I shipped out, I'd take a few pics.
Marine Engineer
Cloud,I know you'd like these ships, as there are 5 domes. The cargo tanks are actually aluminum sphere's, about 3 foot thick at the equators. We call the top of the tanks "the dome top".I was inside a tank in the shipyard, and it was spectacular. You could whisper, and the echo traveled to all parts of the tank. 37 meters from top to bottom.Marine Engineer
Pretty interesting. What plans do you have now that you have been recrewed. And what kind of schedule do you have, as far as home and gone?
Who Dares Wins.
Pretty interesting. What plans do you have now that you have been recrewed. And what kind of schedule do you have, as far as home and gone?
I'm selling two rentals right now, one is in contract, the other has an interested buyer with a conditional committment from a bank for a contstruction loan, so I really need to be home until this stuff is finished.
I've been in contact with the personnel lady at my last company (which I left on good terms) and they'll probably have at least a 2nd engineers position for me, and maybe a 1st's if I'm right place/right time.
I have no urgency, as I've got money for a rainy day, health insurance until sometime mid July.
I'm thinking about making a trip to Patagonia, but have to see how it all pans out. If they call and offer a good job, I just may have to jump on it and get back in with a good company.
The union is not particularly helpful if you're not one of their boys (and I'm not ... I pay my dues and keep my mouth shut, but I'm not a big union guy) so you've got to fend for yourself to get in with a quality outfit. Once you're in, and you're good, the company will keep calling.
Marine Engineer
There's a fest scheduled for August in Toledo you won't want to miss either.Who Dares Wins.
This is very interesting. Do you have any shots of any recreation area, galley or sleeping quarters? How were the creature comforts?
Do you have any shots of any recreation area, galley or sleeping quarters? How were the creature comforts?
Being from NY, I love bagels. The Chief Steward was kind enough to give me free reign in the kitchen, and I organized a "bagel jamboree" because bagels make people happy.
I, along with all the senior officers, had a bedroom attached to an office, with a private bathroom. The rest of the crew had a private stateroom with a twin bed, desk, and bathroom. Everything made of steel (for fire prevention) which makes it sort of cold and uninviting.
On these LNG ships, they had an exercise room with some weights and a concept2 erg. We had a basketball court in the forward storeroom, and a pool on the aft of the house, where we hung fishing net and had volleyball tournaments.
another nice aspect of these ships was that they sold beer and wine onboard, while most US ships are dry.
Marine Engineer
That is really neat stuff. I read about ships and such frequently. In the middle of a book now on U-boats. But I have a stomach that doesn't allow me to ride in much more than a row boat on a pond. But I really enjoy the mechanics of it all. Thanks! DanT
Very cool pictures Marine Enginer! I'm always fascinated about mechinical things...especially big mechanical things and I'm totally flabbergasted that anyone actually understands how they all work.
If I worked on it, it would sink.
blueJust because you can, doesn't mean you should!
Warning! Be cautious when taking any framing advice from me. There are some in here who think I'm a hackmeister...they might be right! Of course, they might be wrong too!
Very interesting slice of life I haven't seen. Thanks for the pics.
Good luck on the new position and sale of the rentals.
"I was glad that when everything finally hit the fan I was holed up in a little beer joint in Robstown, Texas called the El Gato Negro."
Great post! Could hardly be any different from my daily life, and it's fun to see what others do.
Interesting pics. I haven't been in an operating ship's engineering spaces since '71. Yours are much nicer. - lol
In '91, I was working in Wilmington, NC and toured the USS North Carolina one Sunday. When I went into the engine room, it was deja vu all over again - without the heat - lol. I was talking to some other people and started telling them what the pieces were for (this is the throttle board, this is the turbine, etc). I think if someone would have fired a boiler, I could have steamed the sucker. - lol
I will review this thread later, but this is the kind of stuff I love and my wife just can't understand as she turns back to her Hollywood magazine. Thanks for posting this.
Thanks for the pics. I was a machinist mate in the Navy and loved running the plant. These photos bring back a lot of memories.
jonathan... would you like a fresh guiness with that ?
good to see your smiling face..
View ImageMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
jonathan... would you like a fresh guiness with that ?
Mike,
my usual beer of choice on this run was Asahi Super Dry. We tried to get Guiness, but they wouldn't supply it bonded (tax free for sale on the ship) so it was way too expensive.
and down in Indonesia, we drank Bintang. Which I used as the inspiration for my parting shot, my legacy on the ship. The Bintang tank in the ballast pump room.
Marine Engineer
jonathan.. you've redefined the phrase..
"way too much time on your hands "
View ImageMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
jonathan... would you like a fresh guiness with that ?
Hey Mike--you keep that up and I know a six year old who's gonna file a grievance agin ya!
Jon--Neat pics, BTW. A little bigger plant than the tugs, LOL. And that 'enclosed operating area'--whew! Nice work if ya kin get it!! I remember taking the 5am readings for the chief back when I was an AB in the Sheila Moran--stripped to the waist, wearing headphones, and sweating like a waterfall. Had to be 115-120F in there....
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
Edited 1/17/2005 2:14 am ET by Dinosaur
sorry, th, insider's joke... guess ya hadda be there...
wait a minute... you were there...
how deep's the snow now in the land of eternal winter ?Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
how deep's the snow now in the land of eternal winter ?
Only about 18"; not deep enough by a long shot. We had three periods of rain/freezing rain in the space of three weeks. Now it's gone cold again and of course all that rain-wetted snow is just a solid block of ice. Conditions could be better....
I got the flu anyway; been home since Thursday and hope it won't be much longer. The paycheck starts to look thin real quick when you only get ½ day sick-pay per 30 days worked in a seasonal job....
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
And that 'enclosed operating area'--whew! Nice work if ya kin get it!
yeah, it's pretty sweet. Origional design had the console just out in the middle of the engineroom, like most of the other steam ships I've been on. However, they discovered the electronics like the heat even less than the crew, and they have a better union, i.e. they refuse to work without A/C. So get it while the gettin's good.
A/C tripped at 0200 in the CCR one time. Gas Engineer goes up, acknowledges the alarm, and goes back to bed (slack bastard). Electronics go belly up at 0700, which disturbs me as I'm sipping coffee during my personal leisure time. Gas trips, sending the boilers into a tizzy. Way too early for that sort of nonsense.
Marine Engineer
thanks for the picts, Jonathan...a whole 'nuther world that I wouldn't get a glimpse of otherwise - not a tree in sight! - - hope you land on your feet without much travail -
regards, DOUD"there's enough for everyone"
0700, which disturbs me as I'm sipping coffee during my personal leisure time. Gas trips, sending the boilers into a tizzy. Way too early for that sort of nonsense.
Looks like you were on 12-6, usuaoly the Chief Mate's watch--or do you guys run three shifts per day on those vessels? We used to run 2x6 and get a day and a half credit sea time for each day worked.
I never sailed on a steamer; always diesel. Most fun we ever had coming out of the Engine Department was the time I'm sailing Chief Mate on the Daring an old single-screw tug out of Puerto Rico, towing a RO-RO container barge down to Columbia. I'm taking a nice leisurely shower about 1100 when I hear the engine start to over-rev then spiral out into a long, single, whistling scream.
Stack fire.
So-called Captain never ran a tug before; had no idea what 3000 feet of 2¼" wire hawser weighs and how with no way on the catenary belly can just keep sinking in deep water until it hauls the tug and the barge one on top of the other. I spent a very unpleasant half-hour trying to convince him to make ready the cutting torch so we'd be ready to cut the hawser if we had to, hoping the Chief would somehow manage to get the EMD back on line before that became necessary.
He did....
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
Looks like you were on 12-6, usuaoly the Chief Mate's watch--or do you guys run three shifts per day on those vessels? We used to run 2x6 and get a day and a half credit sea time for each day worked.
oh you don't know how well I lived out there. I was a dayworker. no watch for me, nosiree. But our watch schedule was 4 on, 8 off. I always liked the 12-4 when I was watchstanding.
Marine Engineer
That's right; rub it in!
Only time we ever went on day work was when we were tied up alongside waiting for a barge to load...and when I was Chief Mate, I had to watch the longshoremen to make sure they didn't spit or throw cigar butts into the wheat, too!
Figures that, 9 times outta 10, we'd sail on the evening tide so I'd wind up supervising the deckhands chipping and painting all day, then help make up the barge into push gear and then drop it and get it onto the hawser and get out to sea through half the Captain's watch, then go on myself at midnight. Oof--really made staring at the radar all night watching out for tankers an unparalleled joy....
Ship squids got it soft, LOL....Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
verrry interesting
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter
Just got a phone call from my most recent C/E, he said our Captain just got an email from one of the local Indonesians we knew in Bontang. The LNG Capricorn, the first of our ships to be recrewed by the Croatian officers and Filipino crew had a "catastrophic occurence" and had to be towed to port.
So I'm dabbling in a bit of schadenfreude. Hope they didn't blow the entire cost savings of replacing the American crew in one fell swoop.
Marine Engineer
Thanks for the photos and information.An ex-boat builder treading water!
"penny wise, pound foolish"
"there's enough for everyone"
Wow, just wondering about the ship...An American ship? I was reading and looking at the photos and see some were in English...why would they want to give it to Croatian officers and Filipino crews if they can't read English? How does this system work?
My son was talking about getting a job in China (Just a talk and kidding) as he says there isn't alot of jobs in America. I told him their pay would be just for a bowl of rice for a day's work. He says then I would have to get three jobs to help get three meals a day....
Now I'm wondering that other countys are going to be running America....
I was reading and looking at the photos and see some were in English...why would they want to give it to Croatian officers and Filipino crews if they can't read English? How does this system work?
They all have to speak English at some level. The Croatians, most of them, are pretty good. They've been studying English for years and years at school, and at their universities, many of their textbooks are in English, as there isn't much of a market for Croatian language books.
The Filipinos need to understand enough English in order to follow commands in an Emergency. Their minimum standard is a bit more fluid.
All the correspondence with the company will still be in English. The operations office is in Japan, and the head office is in Germany.
They were "American" ships because 30 some odd years ago, when they started this project, the Americans were the only ones with the knowhow to build the ships, and they said, we'll build them, but only if you let us operate them for a long time. Well, a long time is over.
And Japan has far exceeded us in shipbuilding technology for commercial LNG ships.
Marine Engineer
Jonathan,
Been dealing with sticky wickets in my dayjob and just stumbled on your thread.
LOVED the photos! thanks for the posting.
Based on your tank paint job...if ya got some free time, I got some painting to do! (LOL - jez kidding).
Since its been awhile since you began this thread, how about an update on the job situation and your rental sales?
And...will you make it to WhosyerMaumeeFest? (August, 2005 in Maumee, OH) Yeah, I know, ya gotta squeeze in a trip to Patagonia first but for you, that should be no big deal.
"The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,Moves on: nor all your Piety nor WitShall lure it back to cancel half a Line,Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it." - Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
how about an update on the job situation and your rental sales?
I'm scheduled to close on one of the houses next Wed. The other house has an interested buyer, but I'm not going to contract until he gets a commitment for a loan.
And...will you make it to WhosyerMaumeeFest?
well, if I'm not on a ship, I hope to be there, but it's too far in the future to predict. I haven't been seriously job searching until I get at least one of the houses sold.
Marine Engineer
Well good luck with your closing on Wed then!
Thanks again for posting all the pics. Reminded me a lot of my years spent working for the USN and scrambling around LSDs, LCACs, TAOs, SSBNs and the like during BTs and ATs, IXs etc.
"The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,Moves on: nor all your Piety nor WitShall lure it back to cancel half a Line,Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it." - Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Watched a show on Operation Sea Dragon. The security proceedures in place for the Persian Gulf. Many different countries involved in the operation (Australian, Italian, US, UK, Iraqi, Pakistani, etc, etc). Includes a US carrier (and its group) and even US Coast Guard ships.
They showed them boarding tankers to make sure there weren't any terrorists on board (or some such). For some reason, it made me think of this thread... although the tankers they were boarding were oil, not LNG.
jt8
"Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music." -- Angela Moný
Hey John, where did you see that show? I was over there during the first Gulf War (Desert Storm) Did way to many of those boardings. Would love to see that show. We didn't get very much press back then.
Ward
Active duty U.S.C.G.
Lets see if this link works:
http://military.discovery.com/tvlistings/episode.jsp?episode=0&cpi=115508&gid=0&channel=MIL
Military Channel. I think they're going to replay it April 9th.
jt8
"Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music." -- Angela Moný
It worked great, Thanks. I don't get that channel but I'll have a shipmate record it for me.
Ward