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Marine auxiliary machinery - various installations on board

Ships are large, complex vehicles which must be self-sustaining in their environment for long periods with a high degree of reliability. A ship is the product of two main areas of skill, those of the naval architect and the marine engineer.

The naval architect is concerned with the hull, its construction, form, habitability and ability to endure its environment. The marine engineer is responsible for the various systems which propel and operate the ship. More specifically, this means the machinery required for propulsion, steering, anchoring and ship securing, cargo handling, air conditioning, power generation and its distribution. Some overlap in responsibilities occurs between naval architects and marine engineers in areas such as propeller design, the reduction of noise and vibration in the ship's structure, and engineering services provided to considerable areas of the ship.

ships machinery spaces
container ships machinery info
A ship might reasonably be divided into three distinct areas: the cargo-carrying holds or tanks, the accommodation and the machinery space. Depending upon the type each ship will assume varying proportions and functions. An oil tanker, for instance, will have the cargo-carrying region divided into tanks by two longitudinal bulkheads and several transverse bulkheads. There will be considerable quantities of cargo piping both above and below decks.

Seagoing container ship

The general cargo ship will have various cargo holds which are usually the full width of the vessel and formed by transverse bulkheads along the ship's length. Cargo handling equipment will be arranged on deck and there will be large hatch openings closed with steel hatch covers. The accommodation areas in each of these ship types will be sufficient to meet the requirements for the ship's crew, provide a navigating bridge area and a communications centre. The machinery space size will be decided by the particular machinery installed and the auxiliary equipment necessary.

A passenger ship, however, would have a large accommodation area, since this might be considered the 'cargo space'. Machinery space requirements will probably be larger because of air conditioning equipment, stabilisers and other passenger related equipment.


Machinery arrangement

Three principal types of machinery installation are to be found at sea today. Their individual merits change with technological advances and improvements and economic factors such as the change in oil prices. It is intended therefore only to describe the layouts from an engineering point of view. The three layouts involve the use of direct-coupled slow-speed diesel engines, medium-speed diesels with a gearbox, and the steam turbine with a gearbox drive to the propeller.

A propeller, in order to operate efficiently, must rotate at a relatively low speed. Thus, regardless of the rotational speed of the prime mover, the propeller shaft must rotate at about 80 to 100 rev/min. The slow-speed diesel engine rotates at this low speed and the crankshaft is thus directly coupled to the propeller shafting. The medium-speed diesei engine operates in the range 250—750 rev/min and cannot therefore be dircci'f coupled to the propeller shaft. A gearbox is used to provide a low-speed drive for the propeller shaft. The steam turbine rotates at a very high speed, in the order of 6000 rev/min. Again, a gearbox must be used to provide a low-speed drive for the propeller shaft,

Marine auxiliaries

Machinery, other than the main propulsion unit, is usually called 'auxiliary' even though without some auxiliaries the main machinery would not operate for long. The items considered are air compressors, heat exchangers, distillation equipment, oil/water separators, sewage treatment plants and incinerators.

Operational guideline for various auxiliary machinery described here:
Related Info:

  1. Compressed Air Systems for various shipboard operations
    2. The main aim of a compressor, as the name suggests, is to compress air or any fluid in order to reduce its volume. Some of the main applications of compressors onboard ships are main air compressor, deck air compressor, AC compressor and refrigeration compressor. Failure to start or control air compressor can be inconvenient, costly and can carry risks, which need to be managed.....

  2. Marine air compressors working principles
    3. Control or instrument air supplies have particular requirements with regard to being moisture and oil free and without impurities. A special type of oil-free compressor may be used to supply control air or it may be treated after delivery from an ordinary air compressor. This treatment results in the air being filtered and dried in order to remove virtually all traces of oil, moisture and any atmospheric impurities.....

  3. Coolers at sea- Shell and tube type coolers and plate type coolers
    4. Heat exchangers on board ship are mainly coolers where a hot liquid is cooled by sea water. There are some instances where liquid heating is required, such as heavy fuel oil heaters and sea water heaters for tank cleaning. Although being heat exchangers, the main condenser for a steam ship and the evaporator/distiller are dealt with separately .....

  4. Distillation system- Production of distilled water for ships use - The evaporation process
    5. Distillation is the production of pure water from sea water by evaporation and re-condensing. Distilled water is produced as a result of evaporating sea water either by a boiling or a flash process. This evaporation enables the reduction of the 32000 parts per million of dissolved solids in sea water down to the one or two present in distilled water. The machine used is called an 'evaporator', although the word 'distiller' is also used.....

  5. Oily water separator and filter unit for 15 parts per million purity
    6. Oil/water separators are used to ensure that ships do not discharge oil when pumping out bilges, oil tanks or any oil-contaminated space. International legislation relating to oil pollution is becoming more and more stringent in the limits set for oil discharge.....

  6. Sewage treatment on board- biological and chemical sewage treatment plant
    7. The discharge of untreated sewage in controlled or territorial waters is usually banned by legislation. International legislation is in force to cover any sewage discharges within specified distances from land. As a result, and in order to meet certain standards all new ships have sewage treatment plants installed.....

  7. Where are stabilising fins fitted?- function of it controlling ships motion
    8. Stabilising fins are fitted to ship's sides below the waterline to reduce rolling of the hull by wave action. The fins achieve this by imposing an equal and opposite motion. Retractable fins of aerofoil section use the forward velocity of the ship to create this opposing motion.....

  8. Incinerator for ships
    9. Stricter legislation with regard to pollution of the sea, limits and, in some instances, completely bans the discharge of untreated waste water, sewage, waste oil and sludge. The ultimate situation of no discharge can be achieved by the use of a suitable incinerator. When used in conjunction with a sewage plant and with facilities for burning oil sludges, the incinerator forms a complete waste disposal package.....



Marine machineries - Useful tags

Marine diesel engines ||Steam generating plant ||Air conditioning system ||Compressed air ||Marine batteries ||Cargo refrigeration ||Centrifugal pump ||Various coolers ||Emergency power supply ||Exhaust gas heat exchangers ||Feed system ||Feed extraction pump || Flow measurement || Four stroke engines || Fuel injector || Fuel oil system || Fuel oil treatment ||Gearboxes || Governor || Marine incinerator || Lub oil filters || MAN B&W engine || Marine condensers || Oily water separator || Overspeed protection devices || Piston & piston rings || Crankshaft deflection || Marine pumps || Various refrigerants || Sewage treatment plant || Propellers || Power Plants || Starting air system || Steam turbines || Steering gear || Sulzer engine || Turbine gearing || Turbochargers || Two stroke engines || UMS operations || Drydocking & major repairs || Critical machinery || Deck machineries & cargo gears || Control and instrumentation ||Fire protection ||Engine room safety ||





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