A marine engineer`s duty

Engine-room of a merchant ship has the following personnel: chief engineer, second engineer, third engineer and fourth engineer.

All ship engineers are responsible for keeping in order all the machinery.

The chief engineer is free of watch. His main task is to ensure general leadership. He is responsible for the safety of the power plant and buying bunker and technical supplies in ports.

The engineer on watch must be usually present in the Engine Control Room and supervise the readings of all instruments, pressure gauges and devices. He must properly

fulfill the orders from the bridge.

From time to time the engineer on duty must go to the engine room and inspect the machinery. If he detects some trouble such as vibration of any gearing or pump, high temperature of oil in the bearings, oil leakage from a pipeline, absence of cooling water in a tank and so on, he must do everything possible to prevent damage.

The second engineer is responsible for the main diesel engine or main turbine, reduction gears, propeller shaft and so on.

The third engineer is responsible for boilers, fuel oil tanks, compressors, separators and some other machinery. He is in charge of receiving bunker. The fourth engineer is responsible for all the deck mechanisms.

Steam power plant

Steam power plant is arrangement that converts the energy of fuel into mechanical energy. Steam power plant consists of a boiler, a turbine, a condenser a feed pump

The feed pump supplies water to the boiler. The function of the boiler is the formation of steam from feed water. There are two basic types of boilers in use in ships: water-tube boilers and tire-tube boilers.

Water-tube boilers have replaced fire-tube boilers for generating steam for main engines. There are two basic types of water-tube boilers: the main boilers and the auxiliary boilers. The main steam boilers generate steam for main egines,driving the propellers, and the auxiliaries. The auxiliary boilers generate steam only for the auxiliaries and other ships needs.

According to the pressure water-tube boilers are classed as low, intermediate and high pressure boilers.A water-tube boiler consists of water and steam drums, water-heating tubes, a furnace, a superheater, an air-heater, an economizer.The furnace is

used for combustion of fuel and generating hot gases. The hot combustion gases from the furnace pass upward.

Heat is absorbed by the water and steam is formed.

The function of the superheater is the formation of superheated steam from saturated steam.

The economizer is used for heating feed water.

The function of the air-heater is heating combustion air. The superheater; the economizer and the air-heater are heat-transfer surface which cool the exhaust gases to the minimum possible temperature and increase the efficiency of the boiler.

Steam from the boiler passes to the turbine where the heat energy of steam is converted into mechanical energy. Steam from the turbine passes to the condenser where it is converted into water. The cycle is repeated.