I’ve officially been home two weeks now, caught up on my sleep, so I thought I’d post a few pics of the shipyard period I suffered through 10JUL06 – 02AUG06 on the M/V Sagamore.
This was the worst ship I’ve been on in my 15+ years as an engineer on cargo ships. The engineroom, when the main engine was running, was 140ºF or more (just grabbing the handrails walking down a ladder would burn your hands), I averaged 15 hours/day for 78 days straight, the company treated us poorly, my C/E was a micromanager and stupid to boot, and it just wasn’t any fun.
I had a fever for 6 days, and the least I worked any one day was 10 hours. At one point I had worked 30 hours straight, we finally got to port and got FWE (finished with engines) and the C/E told me I had to come back down to install a transformer in a motor controller (basically because he didn’t know how to do it). The ship was evil and I was glad to be rid of it.
got this email today:
Hi Jon,
You left at the right time. We’ve been stuck in Jebel Ali since Sept 30.
We were about to dock (.4nm away from the dead end of the pier)and the pitch had no response from the bridge, ECR or the remote down in the ER somewhere?… It was stuck on 30% and we were making 6 knots … we started to make a 180 degree turn and halfway in the turn the pitch went to full ahead over 100%… the engine overloaded and died … the whole ship then blacked out and we lost steering but that was because the pump was not on the designated emergency pump when the edg kicked in…now wartsila has been troubleshooting for the last few days. I don’t know what progress they’ve made yet but Im sure they’ve eliminated a few options so far…lol.
Everyone was alright and fortunatly we were able to stop in the middle of the fairway. A second tug came along side pushed us to the dock and then we were towed to a lay berth after we finished loading. And here we are.
OK, some pics and descriptions in the next couple of posts.
Marine Engineer
Replies
Hey all those cranes still erected there?
We got 35 cranes up in Seattle & Bellevue & about 15 sites that are on hold till more cranes become available.
"Guns don't kill people----- Husbands that come home early do." Larry the cable guy
cranes for buildings? tons of them all over Dubai. They say that 25% of the cranes worldwide are in Dubai right nowMarine Engineerfair winds and following seas
I heard 20%
We have the pics all over our jobsites friggin most cranes I have ever seen."Guns don't kill people----- Husbands that come home early do." Larry the cable guy
Afraid I'm lost...how is this related to FH ??? Unless your an old hand here and just returning from a second job overseas. Sounds like your job is one of those "big bucks" kind of things where your out on open water 24/7 with 15 to 18 hour days, return after two or three months and your pay check is big enough where you buy a whole house when your finally home again. Friend of mine did that in Alaska on a crab boat for the money. Only problem, he didn't return and now his wife has remarried. The money does you no good if your not around to enjoy the spending part. I've never considered it cause I get sea sick walking on a dock let alone on the water. Went on a tour of a WW II submarine once, it was tied to the pier with big metal arms, and I got motion sick just walking around below decks for 20 minutes. It was warm below, stuffy cause there were lines of people continuously going through and here I was turning green and no way to up chuck but in my shirt pocket. No thank you, not again.
Afraid I'm lost...how is this related to FH ??? Unless your an old hand here and just returning from a second job overseas.
actually returning from my primary job. My second job is selling pork at the farmers market here in NYC. My third job is occasional carpenter working for my loser contractor friend when he's in a bind and his pothead unreliable workers don't show.
I went to Rhodefest 2 years ago, and lots of the guys were interested in what I did, and like pic's of large machinery. Really sorry I missed Tipifest (in my own beloved NY) but gotta pay the bills, ya know?
besides a lot of the principles translate from one trade to the next:
doing things right the first time
managing people
increasing productivity
solving problems creatively
and this forum is a blast, with great people
Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
I always enjoy your posts. Those ships are amazing. You do a great job describing the situations you encounter.
Completely agree that the same things apply in any business:
doing things right the first time
managing people
increasing productivity
solving problems creatively
and this forum is a blast, with great people
"It's always better to have regrets for things you've done than for things you wish you had done..........."
"Afraid I'm lost...how is this related to FH ???"
MarineEngineer has been hanging around here for a long time. There were several requests for him to post more pics of the ships and engines. (I was one of the ones who asked for 'em)
It's not really related to building at all, so maybe it could have gone in the tavern. But no big deal, IMHO.
Sign in a clothing store: "Wonderful bargains for men with 16 and 17 necks."
The ship was small, and had a 5K hp Wartsila engine with a controllable pitch propeller. We also had a shaft generator, which was convenient and efficient. The engine ran at 750RPM, and was controlled by an electro/pneumatic governor which kept the speed constant for the generator. The output was reduced down to about 200RPM for the propeller, which had a controllable pitch, enabling us to go full ahead/astern/stop and anywhere inbetween without stopping or changing the speed of the engine.
Here's the ship up on the blocks
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Here's the shaft and propeller about to be reinstalled
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Some main engine overhaul pics
all of the cylinder liners were pulled because it had been 20,000 hours since the last time it was done, and Wartsila recommends pulling, inspection, and the change of O-rings at 20,000 running hours.
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The pistons were a bit bigger than a five gallon bucket
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rocker arms, pushrods not yet installed. It was a 4 stroke engine, so there were both intake and exhaust valves, as opposed to a 2 stroke, which would have had only an exhaust valve, with intake ports.
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Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
Cool
what's the rpm's of that motor about 200?"Guns don't kill people----- Husbands that come home early do." Larry the cable guy
what's the rpm's of that motor about 200?
the engine ran at 750 rpm so that the generator would produce 50hz (ship built in Turkey, it was 450VAC,3ph, 50hz) but propellers spinning in water don't like fast RPM, it causes too much cavitation, so the output to the shaft was reduced to about 200RPM.
Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
Here are some hull pics:
the profile of the bow helps cut through the water with less drag on the hull
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the drydock period is the only chance to paint the hull, which is critical to the longevity of the ship
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The house was also painted
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Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
here's some pics of the shaft generator:
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once the shaft generator was returned to its position, the coupling had to be aligned
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Alignment of the coupling is critical, otherwise the bearings will fail which means $$$$$$$ down the drain. The shipyard aligned the coupling using wedges under the feet of the generator, and once they were satisfied that it was in the proper position, the mixed a two-part resin and squirted it under the feet in lieu of the shims that would have been used on a smaller, more manageable motor.
Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
I'm thinkin' you'll be thrilled to get back to the flea market on weekends : )Creation arises, is sustained for awhile, and then things change. That’s the dance.
the main engine turbocharger:
the engine was manufactured by Wartsila, but the turbo was an ABB product.
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the diameter of the turbo was about 1 meter or so
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at full ahead, the turbo spun at about 17K RPM
Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
jon,
Remember I was asking you to pick me up one of those scarfs they wear in the far east but couldn't think of what they were called?
Well I found them on ebay and bought a cpl. My new winter wardrobe..theyre called Shemgha's. I see the same company is selling these video's...Interested? LOL
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Creation arises, is sustained for awhile, and then things change. That’s the dance.
Dubai is in a building boom. New buildings going up everywhere. Traffic light nothing you've ever seen.Dubai is an unusual place. No taxes, income or sales. 80% ex-pat: mostly indian/pakistani, quite a bit Filipino, and lots of Westerners in white collar jobs. The emirates have "gold collar jobs" because the laws are such that every local business needs a native partner, who does no work but gets 50% of the profits.At least half of the hotels have restaurants/clubs which are whorehouses, with Russian, Chinese, African girls. Islamic law is only for the natives. Just about no crime in the city.The shipyard workers lived in barracks, made a few hundred dollars per month, worked 12 hours/7 days per week. Lots of stories in the newspaper about the construction guys struggling with the heat, many days it was 115-120ºF during the day. They passed a law saying lunch break was from noon to 3pm, but the construction firms complained that they would go out of business.I didn't care for the city, it felt fake, kinda like Epcot. Everything was beautiful and perfect, but the city had no soul. At least to me.Glad to be home. So when will we do Angelica's Kitchen?Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
those photos are sic....thanks for sharing...i like oversized motor parts ...friggin cool
OK, here's a few other pics:
the diesel generators were overhauled. The pistons on these were about the size of a 35oz. can of tomatoes.
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here are the rotors of the generators after cleaning and varnishing.
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The generators were 4 stroke, and every 400 hours we had to adjust the valve clearance. Put any particular cylinder at TDC (top dead center) and adjust the intake valve to 0.25mm and the exhaust valve to 0.40mm. 2 milkbones to whoever can tell me why the difference in the spec.
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Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
the cargo hold:
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and the stern tube sans shaft
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the stern tube is there to lubricate and support the shaft, and to keep the sea out and the ship in.
Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
Put any particular cylinder at TDC (top dead center) and adjust the intake valve to 0.25mm and the exhaust valve to 0.40mm. 2 milkbones to whoever can tell me why the difference in the spec.
Lessee. . . I'll assume that you adjust your valves when the engine is cold, like i've done with car or motorcycle. Exhaust valves get hotter, due to the lack of cool intake air, so they expand more. Last thing you want is a tight exhaust valve, letting engine gasses out when there is pressure inside, and then warping the valve cause it's not supported by the seat.
Am I close?zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
on the noseMarine Engineerfair winds and following seas
exuast valves get hotter than intake valves and require more clearance for expansion.
Bill
correctamundoMarine Engineerfair winds and following seas
My guess is that the exhaust valves get hotter and need to allow for expansion? I play around with dirt bikes an all four strokes need valves adjusted similar. Really never wondered why, just have always done it.
OTOH, thanks for sharing some truly unique photos of things us Idaho landlubbers never even dreamed existed.
Great stuff, keep it coming!
There was a long article on Dubai in Vanity Fair a few issues back. It sounds like a pretty twisted place.
Wow, how careful do you have to be with the balance of a 17k rpm turbo 1 meter diameter? I didn't realize these things were turbo, but I guess efficiency is the name of the game when you're burning that much oil.
Interesting pictures once again, keep it up.zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
how careful do you have to be with the balance of a 17k rpm turbo 1 meter diameter?
pretty careful, so much that we would never do anything to the turbo other than changing the oil every 500 hours, always calling in the tech for repair/adjustment.
Everyday, I would "waterwash" the compressor side, which meant injecting water into the turbine at full load. It wasn't that the water disolved the dirt, but rather that the droplets of the water blasted the dirt, kinda like sandblasting, but the resulting water vapor was kinder to the combustion of the engine.
once a week, I would waterwash the exhaust gas side, with the engine at no load (when we were starting the engine to leave port).
Monitoring the turbo RPM was a good way to see how much the engine was loaded. How much air we could get into the engine was pretty much the limiting factor for how fast we could go. And when your inlet air temp was so high (say, 54ºC) you can't run as hard as when the air is cooler (and therefore more dense, with more O2/cubic meter)
Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
you gotta start putting your hand in the picture for reference
"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know" Ralph Waldo Emerson
even with a hand in the picture it's hard to get scale. The diesel generators were powered by MAN engines that were designed for 18 wheelers. Then main engine could almost fit in a train locomotive (with very little room leftover).The cargo hold could hold maybe 15 rows, 6 per row, of 20 foot containers, stacked 5 high, with another 4 levels on top of the hatch covers.A very small ship, about 300 feet long.Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
he doesn't have a SAG card, he can't put his hand in the pic
geeshMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
You could sub out your pointer finger. Cool thread, huh?View Image
yeah... hey , think we can get him to send us some of the sausage he sells ?
how about it jonathan ?Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
think we can get him to send us some of the sausage he sells ?
how about it jonathan ?
no can do. You'll have to come to NYC, or get it from the farm, in Shushan, NY.
but that's a great sales line .... pretty girl walks by .... "Excuse me, would you like some of my sausage?"
I actually use the line, "Can I put a little pork in your life?" all the time, which gets a smile, and sometimes a sale ... no phone numbers yet, though.
Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
aren't you the guy that did the stunts for the hand in 'the addams family' movie?
"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know" Ralph Waldo Emerson
it had been 20,000 hours since the last time it was done
About how long does it take to get 20,000 hours on the engine?
Looks like the cargo containers all sit down into the bootom of the boat. Is there a deck on top?
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
the ship was built in 1996, and we crossed 50,000 running hours while I was there, so 20,000 would be about 4 years or so.
Really depends a lot on the run. For two years the ship was shuttling between Singapore and Diego Garcia, one round trip per month, which meant they had about 11 days per month sitting at anchor.
The run the ship is on now is working as a feeder ship in the gulf. Think of the ship as the local UPS truck making deliveries, with a giant 10,000TEU ship (TEU = twenty foot equivalent units ... a short container) like the UPS airplane bringing all the stuff to a hub.
So we have a lot more stops and starts, but we're in port as much as we're at sea, working cargo.
The cargo hold would get filled with containers, and then the hatch covers are put back on (like a multipiece lid to a giant box) and then more containers would be stacked on top of the hatches.
here's the ship with its hatch covers on
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and here's the ship loaded with cargo, at sea
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Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
Going into the drydock was pretty cool. We shared the drydock with other vessels, so it was an all day affair. Tugs put us more or less in position, and then we used the winches to tighten the lines to get us precisely in the right spot.
There was a small buoy at the bow and the stern, in the water, and we hung a plumb bob from the centerline of the bow and stern to line us up with the bouy. Once all the ships were in position, the DD would begin to pump the water out. The blocks were already under the ship, in the right place, more or less, with divers making fine adjustments.
The ship would initially settle on fixed blocks
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and then the divers would use the adjustable blocks to carry the loads evenly
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at some point, as the dock was lowering the water level, we have to secure the ships power (due to no cooling water), so hopefully the yard has rigged the shore power cable by then. Then services such as cooling water for A/C, sewage overboard, air, drinking water, telephone, etc. would be hooked up.
Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
here are some propeller pics:
Before cleaning
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after cleaning
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The cleaning is important to reduce drag, and to keep the propeller in balance.
Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
That's amazing - I had no idea so much crud could build up on a propeller.
Before you save the world, you have to save your seat. [Thomas F. Dowd, Jr., former 5-term Connecticut legislator]
Wow, that would take a while with a toothbrush and can of Brasso.
jt8
'Grandpa used to say "know your role and shut your hole." ' --Stilletto
Talk about the process of cleaning those props please.
How are they cleaned?
Sand blasting? or Water Jet?
I don't know how they were cleaned, that work was contracted out to the shipyard. I imagine a combination of pressure washing and wirewheel buffing.Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
Where do they put the hatch covers when they are loading and unloading?
If there's enough room on the pier, they pick them up and put them on the dock. Otherwise they stack them on the ship and work the cargo everywhere but under them. Then pull a switcheroo and work the rest of the cargo.Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
Welcome home brothaman,
I'll give you a call within the next week or so and we'll do the day hangin' out.
Glad to see you're safe!!
Be well bro
andy...
Creation arises, is sustained for awhile, and then things change. That’s the dance.
What kind of time can you get between overhauls on an engine like that?
different components have different running hour specs. The cylinder liners are at 20,000 hours, while the heads are at something like 8000 hours. Camshaft bearings (which were changed) are at 40,000 hours.also, you want to normally stagger the work, to minimize down time. And there are periodic surveys that need to be arranged with the classification society (ABS - american bureau of shipping, or Lloyds of London, for instance).And you never want to be delayed due to an engine malfunction, because then you go off hire, which is very expensive for the company. Say it costs $18,000/day to run the ship, and it's chartered for $22,000/day. 2 days off hire erases a months profits.Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
fasinating material..you could not send me enough pics. thanx. stinky
Thanks for cross-posting the links to this thread. I'm going to be forwarding it to my dad who grew up in the international zone of the harbour in Hamburg - and still has a yen for this kind of story (and he's totally fascinated by the building going on in Dubai).
If you can't play a sport, be one.
that doesn't sound like a whole lot of profit for a fair amount of risk and investment
$4K/day profit is $1,460,000 profit per year, that's above and beyond salaries, insurance, spare parts, fuel, etc. This company had 4 owners and 10 ships. It's not bad if you don't have any disasters. But tight margins, not much room for things to go wrong.Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
Are the ships purchased or leased?
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
this company owns their ships. They were under charter to APL (American President Lines) who have some of their own ships, but also have a transportation branch of their firm that just arranges containers to get from A to B, with extreme prejudice. The LNG ships that I used to work on out in the far east were owned by a multinational conglomerate, with BGT (Burma Gas Transport) on the stack, operated by Pronav Ship Management out of Hamburg, and chartered to a Japanese co-op of powerplants and terminals.Shipping truly is a Global industry.Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
I did the math and no, it doesn't sound horrible, but I'd imagine the risk is fairly substantial, just sounds a little tight if say, the engine were to crap out beyond repair or something to that effect.
So when the ship is sitting in Singapore for 11 days a month does that not erase a whole month's profit?
the ship was on charter, so they were making money. Now, who would charter a ship, and pay them to sit idle for 11 days a month? Do you know what Diego Garcia is? Milkbones for this easy question.Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
US naval station
When the ship is hauling, do companies pay for the time it is sitting loading and off-loading?
and how does the daily rate usually work?
do they pay a certain number for a given voyage or is it based on how long/many days it takes to make the voyage?
The US Government chartered the ship to supply Diego Garcia, and the ship did whatever they directed it to do, which usually meant go to Singapore, load, back to DG, unload, then wait for the next trip.Terribly inefficient, ehh? Taxpayer dollars seem to be limitless though. So the ship lost the charter, because when it came up for renewal, someone else bid THREE MILLION DOLLARS less per year. Go figure.So they had to find new business, and got the Persian Gulf charter with APL, which the ship wasn't really staffed to handle ... so everyone was working too many hours, and almost no one returns other than the Captain and C/E ('cause their jobs are easy).Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
hey jon...any cool illegal "stuff" ever found on board? OK, you don't have to put it in print. Wait'll we do Angelica's Kitchen to
answer me : )
When are you doing the sausage gig so I know when its good to pop in on you?Creation arises, is sustained for awhile, and then things change. That’s the dance.
sausage is every Saturday, all day, Union Square, west side by the statue of Ghandi.no contraband that I can remember. In Japan, they don't let you bring p0rn in or out, and a bunch of guys were at the customs station, before going to the airport.Customs official asks one of the guys, "Do you have any p0rn?"
Guy says, "Yours or ours?"
Search his bags and find TONS of stuff. So they search everyones bags. Another guy has a dildo. A guy. He carried that burden with him for years, somehow someone always knew the story when he joined a new ship.Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
If I was in the market for a new hobby, what should I expect to pay for a ship like that new & used?
Joe H
what should I expect to pay for a ship like that new & used?
I don't know about a ship like this one. The budget for the 3 week shipyard repair period was $1 million.
A new LNG carrier will run you about $250M, but that sort of ship is a lot more sophisticated than the one I was just on.
Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas
and oh yeh...check out my web site to see the Tipi Fest you missed : (
and take a look at the group shot.
http//http://www.cliffordrenovations.comCreation arises, is sustained for awhile, and then things change. That’s the dance.
>>>> Do you know what Diego Garcia is? Milkbones for this easy question.BUFF base
BUFF base
Amazing we're still using 'em. Starting building them in what...the early 1950's?
jt8
"Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Do you know what Diego Garcia is? Milkbones for this easy question
I spent 6 months on The Rock.
It's a Big 'ol Volcano.SamT
Really interesting to see something far removed from my everyday life.
Especially by someone who is into what they do.
Thanks for posting/sharing it...Pete
WOW, does that bring back memories from the fireroom of that tin can I sailed for Uncle Sam. I thought about going the merchant route but never did. Are there many ex-navy in it?
not as many ex-navy as you would have thought. I've run into quite a few of them, but they're still rare. And usually they have trouble adjusting to the commercial way of doing things, compared to the Navy's way.Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas