201434 Costly mis-communication

Edited from Norwegian Club Casualty Letter No 94

Some 20 minutes after departure the cargo vessel’s main engine oil mist detector alarm sounded while the engine was at full ahead. The oil mist detector could not identify the cylinder unit causing the alarm and it was not connected to a shut down function. Hence, the engine crew tried to identify which unit was the problem while maintaining full ahead RPM. Subsequently, the main engine low lube oil alarm sounded. After communicating these problems to the bridge, the Master considered it inconvenient for the vessel to stop and the vessel sailed for approximately two hours before they finally stopped the main engine.

It was subsequently found that the main engine had suffered severe damage to the big end bearings and required renewal of the crank shaft; repairs that cost in the order of $1 million and left the vessel off-hire for more than 40 days.

The same vessel suffered a similar occurrence a few years earlier and sister vessels have also suffered similar crank shaft failures.

Lessons learned
From a technical point of view, the engine crew appears not to have taken the proper action when the oil mist detector alarm sounded or when the low pressure alarm sounded later as they maintained the engine RPM and load. There may well be specific reasons for their actions, but what would you do on your vessel in a similar situation? Would your engine crew be able to see the possible consequences of their actions?

Do your engine crew communicate openly and with reasonable clarity for a non-technician on the bridge to appreciate the situation they are facing in the engine room?

Does your chief engineer effectively communicate the criticality of his engine condition in order for you to balance this information with considerations for the safety of the vessel (location, currents, weather, traffic)?

Do your Technical Managers inform you of relevant situations on other vessels in your fleet, or of sister vessels with problems that may well happen to you?