Marine engineer - Ask me anything

[wendy3]

Fascinating!!

 

[Cruising Engineer]

When planning a cruise (like we plan a flight in the Army) how is the fuel consumption determined? For aircraft, we use pounds burned per hour.

 

[Capt_BJ]

not joking

his first replies make me question his qualifications ......

IMO WAY off base // incorrect .......

your choice ..... listen to who you like .....

junior engineer ..... CAPTAIN/MASTER .......

 

[Vovin]

not joking

his first replies make me question his qualifications ......

IMO WAY off base // incorrect .......

your choice ..... listen to who you like .....

junior engineer ..... CAPTAIN/MASTER .......

Look, I'm not trying to upset of offend anyone here.

As I said in response to your first message, I'm happy to be corrected or to be proved wrong.

So please correct me instead of continuing on this avenue of "I've been here longer than you and I'm telling you that you are wrong without offering ANY feedback because I'm a captain/master"

I have since looked into how a ship ballasts itself in rough seas as the knowledge I had was from me chatting and asking deckies a question or two.

Ships take on ballast in rough seas to prevent slamming and to ensure the rudders and props remain submerged. Taking on ballast alters the stability characteristics of the ship, the extra weight of the water, by default, lowers the c of g. And a lower c of g would improve the stability, as it would in a vast number of applications, not just ships.

If I'm wrong you need to tell me why. You need to expand on why you're saying the things you are, otherwise you just look silly.

 

[icc2515]

I think Captain_BJ was just joking with you.

Well you cannot have a superhero username like that and not have a sense of humor.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

When planning a cruise (like we plan a flight in the Army) how is the fuel consumption determined? For aircraft, we use pounds burned per hour.

I wonder if there are any shipbuilders or naval architects on the board.
Speed and consumption disputes are very common between Owners and Charterers/Charterers and Sub Charterers. Time Charterparties will describe bunker consumption and speed in terms of ‘about’ and ‘without guarantee’ and Beaufort scale etc. It used to be that a Master could ‘flog the logs’ to exaggerate the wind, sea swell etc and make sure that the vessel was performing as described in the charter party, but this is almost impossible to do now.

 

[Hegemon]

your choice ..... listen to who you like .....

junior engineer ..... CAPTAIN/MASTER .......

Thanks for giving me the choice. I think I'll go with the person who provides thoughtful and rational answers, rather than the person who puts unverified qualifications into all caps as if they're yelling at me. Yuck.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

Thanks for giving me the choice. I think I'll go with the person who provides thoughtful and rational answers, rather than the person who puts unverified qualifications into all caps as if they're yelling at me. Yuck.

Not if you were actually onboard a ship though.... right?

 

[Hegemon]

Not if you were actually onboard a ship though.... right?

Indeed

Although I would hope that the Captain of the ship would treat his people with a bit more grace and consideration.

 

[Vovin]

When planning a cruise (like we plan a flight in the Army) how is the fuel consumption determined? For aircraft, we use pounds burned per hour.

Consumption is generally done in meters cubed per day, this goes for all fluids onboard. It's like that just because of the sheer amount of fuel it takes to move a ship compared to an aircraft.

The engineer on watch in the morning will generally collect data about fuel consumed/engine hours
/distance travelled/fresh water produced etc. These figures are recorded each day, generally at midday. They are called midday figures (imaginative name I know) and they are sent to the Chief Engineer and Staff Captain. This allows the ship to track trends in the machinery and to track consumption.

Hope this helps.

 

[Vovin]

Thanks for giving me the choice. I think I'll go with the person who provides thoughtful and rational answers, rather than the person who puts unverified qualifications into all caps as if they're yelling at me. Yuck.

To be fair, neither of us here can verify our qualifications

 

[Vovin]

Not if you were actually onboard a ship though.... right?

Sadly, due to covid ive not been able to get onboard for a while :-/

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

Sadly, due to covid ive not been able to get onboard for a while :-/

So you would only consider working on a cruise ship?

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

Consumption is generally done in meters cubed per day, this goes for all fluids onboard. It's like that just because of the sheer amount of fuel it takes to move a ship compared to an aircraft.

The engineer on watch in the morning will generally collect data about fuel consumed/engine hours
/distance travelled/fresh water produced etc. These figures are recorded each day, generally at midday. They are called midday figures (imaginative name I know) and they are sent to the Chief Engineer and Staff Captain. This allows the ship to track trends in the machinery and to track consumption.

Hope this helps.

Now you are talking nonsense!

 

[Vovin]

Now you are talking nonsense!

How so? Explain

 

[Vovin]

So you would only consider working on a cruise ship?

The issue I have is that I did my cadetship on cruise ships and all my experience is on them. The job market for cruise ship engineers is oversaturated so not much happening for me.

I have considered working on different ship types but while my licence allows me to work on any ship with no power restriction, It would be incredibly difficult to get my foot in the door elsewhere.

Superyacht industry is an option I've considered though.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Consumption is generally done in meters cubed per day, this goes for all fluids onboard. It's like that just because of the sheer amount of fuel it takes to move a ship compared to an aircraft.
The engineer on watch in the morning will generally collect data about fuel consumed/engine hours
/distance travelled/fresh water produced etc. These figures are recorded each day, generally at midday. They are called midday figures (imaginative name I know) and they are sent to the Chief Engineer and Staff Captain. This allows the ship to track trends in the machinery and to track consumption.
Hope this helps.

So how do you plan a cruise to know when you need to refuel/where/availability if you base consumption on the morning data? I plan a VFR/IFR flight based on prevailing winds, weather, and estimated consumption rate of the aircraft and chart my flight path for refueling stops then verify the pounds burned per hour during the flight.
I can drop in for refueling (helicopter pilot) as planned or needed to an airport with JP-5/Jet-A fuel (and accepts a military fueling card). Can you just stop at any port, taxi up to parking, and get refueled as needed?

 

[Vovin]

So how do you plan a cruise to know when you need to refuel/where/availability if you base consumption on the morning data? I plan a VFR/IFR flight based on prevailing winds, weather, and estimated consumption rate of the aircraft and chart my flight path for refueling stops then verify the pounds burned per hour during the flight.
I can drop in for refueling (helicopter pilot) as planned or needed to an airport with JP-5/Jet-A fuel (and accepts a military fueling card). Can you just stop at any port, taxi up to parking, and get refueled as needed?

Apologies.

The planning would be up to the captain, they use planning software that has been set up to take into account their average daily consumption.

You could turn up to any port you wish as long as they have the facilities. Most, however, prefer using their home port for fuel. They know that they will be receiving the correct grade of fuel in their home port, ive heard stories of unscrupulous fuel vendors putting water in with their fuel.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Thanks. Water in fuel is always a problem. I'm not sure of the settling dynamics of diesel but the AV-gas (JP5/Jet-A) settles fasts and can be detected quickly by pulling a fuel sample on-site.

DRAG: the hull is designed to reduce the skin-frictional forces and the bulb counter reacts to the wave drag forces by producing alternative wave action. I get that.

But above the waterline, the newer ships do not appear to be anything close to aerodynamic with the "floating milk carton design" and so many activities hanging on the ship. How does wind affect drag on the ship and the efficiency of the engines?

 

[MillauFr]

I would be curious to see how the waste plumbing works on the ships. Sounds like there is pressurized air running through the system to help make things flow since you cant rely on gravity.