Solas regulation of signal column light regulations.

1. It should be provided with main and emergency power supply with auto changeover.
2.sound level must be 120db to 80 dB.
2. 3.Flashing intensity for atleat 50% of cycle and have pulse frequency in range 0.5hz to 1.5
hz.
3. 4.Alarm and indicator colour should be in accordance with ISO standard 2412. 5. Ip 54
protection provided.

Why generators are provided at the middle platform?

Generator are provided at the middle platform because in the extreme situation of flooding of bottom
platform. immediate shutdown of the power supply or black out condition can be avoided.

There are different methods of gauging a cargo tank. Some of the devices used for the
measurement of the cargo level on different tankers are:

1. Float gauges
2. Radar gauges
3. Ultrasonic gauges
4. UTI indicators
5. Slip tubes

1. Float gauges
Float gauges have been used widely on all gas carriers. Their construction is very simple, consisting
of a float attached by a tape to an indicating device. The indicating device can be arranged so that
the reading can be read out remotely or locally as desired. These are also fitted with isolation valves
so that the float alone can be taken out and be serviced if required. A typical float level gauge used
in a gas tanker is shown below:

2. Radar gauges
This is another type of gauging equipment that operates on the principle of radar. This type of gauge
is used on all modern tankers now-a-days for their accuracy and reliability. Radar gauges operate at
very high frequencies (11 gigahertz). In case of gas carriers, the siting of the transmitter on the tank
dome is very important for the most accurate operation.

Advantages of Radar gauges

 Since the antenna is the only moving part inside the tank, it is highly accurate and highly
reliable.
 Radar waves are most suitable because they are not affected by the atmosphere above the
cargo in the tank.
3. Ultrasonic gauges
The working principle of the ultrasonic gauge is very similar to that of the echo sounders. Usually
they will measure either the ullage (unfilled space) or they will measure the depth of the liquid by
reflecting sound waves from the liquid surface. The receiver may be located either on the tank dome
(in gas carriers) or at the bottom of the tank. This type of gauge is not reliable, to be specific,
because there may be problems in obtaining satisfactory readings when loading by spray lines.
Another disadvantage is that the reading may vary depending upon changes in temperature and
pressure.

4. UTI indicators
These are used widely on crude oil tankers. This type of gauge, as the name implies, measures the
ullage, temperature, and interface. These are used during the final phases of loading and during the
voyage. Sensors are provided at the bottom to indicate the water interface since most of the crude
will contain water.

5. Slip tubes
As per the Gas Codes, slip tubes are classified under restricted type of gauging device. These are
used widely on gas tankers. They are grouped under restricted type of gauging since there is a
possibility of some amount of cargo vapor or liquid being released to the atmosphere during the
measurement of the level. Care should be taken while using these types of gauges so that it doesn’t
cause any harm to the environment. Some terminals forbid the use of these types of gauges for
some types of cargoes.

They have an orifice (with a diameter restricted to 1.5 mm, unless an excess overflow valve is fitted)
at the upper end which allows the liquid or vapor to be released to the atmosphere. The reading can
be observed from the markings on the tube when the liquid level has reached them. Initially the
vapor will be vented and then the liquid level rises.

Capacitive Level Sensor:

A capacitor is said to have two plates, separated by a di-electric medium. For measuring tank levels,
the capacitance probe acts as a single plate and the tank side wall acts as the second plate. As the
liquid level inside the tank varies, the potential between the tank wall and the probe varies
accordingly. Thus causes change in current in the circuit and thus it is calibrated for indicating the
tank level.

Pressure Based Level Measurement

The head of available liquid in the tank is used and the head is converted into level measurement.
As the level inside the tank varies, the head of liquid and thus the pressure varies accordingly, and
this is used as reference for indicating the level in the particular tank. For sensing the pressure
variation inside the tank, a slack diaphragm pressure sensing device is used. One end of the
diaphragm is connected to the open end of the tank where atmospheric pressure acts on it. The
other end is connected to the safe bottom-most portion of the tank, enabling the liquid in the tank to
exert a corresponding head on the diaphragm. The diaphragm responds to the difference in
pressure, which moves a needle calibrated to indicate the level inside the tank
Bubbler Gauge
This is one of the famous types found in most of the remote reading gauges. This type is
used usually for highly viscous oils like in fuel oil tanks and the cargo tanks of product
carriers, etc. Compressed air is admitted at the top of a small diameter tube which is fixed
vertically inside the tank. The base of the tube is left open from the tank bottom surface.
When compressed air is admitted from the tube top, it bubbles out from the bottom and thus
reaches the liquid surface. The air pressure is dependent on the hydrostatic head of liquid
present in the tank. This air pressure is measured and calibrated to indicate the tank level
continuously. A 3-way valve may also be provided to by-pass the compressed air from the
restrictor, thus allowing blowing off the tube inside the tank to avoid any deposits.

Automatic fire sprinkler systems

The sprinkler system consist of a network of sprinkler heads located at dedicated areas, which
needs extra protection. The system is generally fixed in accommodation area and machinery
spaces. The sprinkler heads in both these places are not the same, but have certain variations in the
equipments used and the method of operation. The sprinkler head is the most important part of the
whole emergency system.

Construction and Working of Sprinkler Head

The sprinkler heads, especially in the accommodation areas can do both the things - detect and
extinguish fire. The sprinkler head is covered by semicircular quartzoid bulb, which contains an
expandable liquid. A deflector plate is attached at the end of the bulb , which helps in spraying the
water over a large area. In case of a fire, the heat causes the liquid inside the bulb to expand, which
shatters the bulb, allowing the water to flow from the sprinkler head.

The water is supplied to all the sprinkler heads by means of a tank pressurized with compressed air.
The water in the pipes is kept at a constant pressure. As soon as the sprinkler start operating the
pressure in the pipe lines falls, a salt water pump cuts in automatically to provide a continuous
supply of water. The sprinkler heads are initially provided with fresh water in order to prevent
corrosion of the pipeline and the system.

Arrangement
Not all the sprinkler heads are supplied water by one single pump. The complete installation is
divided into sections consisting of 150 to 200 sprinkler heads each, having their own dedicated
pumps. All the sections have alarm valves, which provides both audible and visual signal when
water water flows through them. This helps in identifying which section of the ship is under fire. An
automation system keeps a track of all the sections and is located in the main control room.
The sprinkler heads provided in the engine room are known as “sprayers” and they don’t have a
quartzoid bulb in their design. There is a different detection system which detects the fire and
activates the sprinkler system. The sprinkler system is generally operated manually.

The sprinkler system should be periodically inspected by creating mock situations. Also, the chest
valve along with the audible and visual alarms should also be checked for any malfunctioning.

What are the requirements of automatic water sprinkler system on ships ?

1. Each sprinkler head must be capable of delivering water at a rate of 5 L / m2 / minute.

2. Each sprinkler head is sufficient to cover the area of about 16 square meters.
3. One section is permitted to contain maximum 200 heads.
4. The pressure at the highest sprinkler head in the system is not less than 4.8
bar.
5. Sprinkler heads are spaced not more than 4 meter apart and 2 meter from the vertical wall.
6. There must be at least two powers source for the sea water pump, alarm system and FW pump.
7. This system consists of independent sea water pump with its own sea water suction.
8. Section alarm can be tested individually by test cock on each section.

RATING COLOUR

68 °C RED

80 °C YELLOW

93 °C GREEN

141 °C BLUE

182 °C VIOLET

Photoelectric smoke detectors

Photoelectric smoke detectors work on the principle of detecting the presence or absence of light,
and responding to it by sending an appropriate alarm, which could be audio or visual in nature.
Normally it consists of a sensor which has light falling on it from a source. If the light is interrupted
due to the presence of smoke the alarm goes off. This is a pretty convenient method of detecting the
presence of smoke but the only disadvantage is that unless the smoke is thick it cannot be detected
using this technique. This means that before the actual detection takes place, fire might have
already began. The advantage of this type of smoke detector is that it has less possibility of raising a
false alarm, because of its relatively low sensitivity.

Ionization smoke detectors

Ionization smoke detectors are better at detecting minute quantities of smoke because of the
different principle of operation. The construction of this detector is basically in the form of two plates
with a potential difference between them which is generated by applying a voltage across them. A
small amount of radioactive material is used to ionize the atmosphere between the plates so that it
continues current flows between the two plates because of the potential difference. When a minute
quantity of smoke enters the space between the plates the ionized air particles get neutralized
because of the smoke particles. This causes a fall in the current between the plates which is
detected by the sensor and this diagram explains this principle in a fairly simple manner

Hence we can see that the main advantage of this type of smoke detector is that it can detect very
tiny amounts of smoke which is very good from the safety point of view, especially on a ship which is
floating in isolated conditions amidst the sea. The diagram below explains the working of this type of
smoke detector in detail.

Therefore both types of smoke detectors have their own advantages and drawbacks and can be
used depending on the circumstances. For example it would be better to use a photoelectric detector
in the galley (ship kitchen) where minute quantities of smoke might be present mostly due to cooking
activities.

What does OMD stand for?

An overheated diesel engine can become a source of fire and extreme havoc if periodic
maintenance and proper practices are not carried out. Oil Mist is created in the crankcase when
the lubricating oil is splashed by moving and rotating parts of the engine. This oil mist reduces the
flash point of the oil, allowing it to catch fire in presence of a hot spot. It is important that this
concentration of oil is kept under control and incase its presence is detected, the engine should be
stopped or the speed lowered. But how will an engine detect that the level of oil mist has increased
in the crankcase?

Oil Mist detectors are used for this purpose. Crankcase of each cylinder is connected to the OMD,
which continuously checks the air sample from each cylinder. If the amount of mist increases, OMD
raises an alarm. Let’s see how it detects the mist.

Construction
Generally only only OMD is fitted in each engine. OMD doesn’t reduce or prevent the formation of
mist, but only give warning in case the concentration rises above the level at which an explosion can
take place.

The arrangement of OMD consist of two tubes of equal sizes. Both these tubes are places parallel to
each other. At one end of each tube, a photo-electric cell is fixed. Photo-electric cells generate an
electric current when light falls on their surface. The amount of electric current generated is directly
proportional to the intensity of light falling on it. The other ends of both the tubes are sealed by fitting
lens that allow light to pass through them.

Equal intensity of light is reflected on the photo-electric cells using a lamp. Light passes through
the the lenses after being reflected by mirrors. One of the tube has an inlet and outlet connection for
introducing oil mist.

Working
Out of the two tubes, one is called the reference tube and the other is called the measuring tube.
Measuring tube has a connection for oil mist, which is extracted from the crankcase with the help of
an electric extractor fan. The reference tube is filled with clean air and is used as a reference for
measuring the level of mist in the measuring tube. Samples from each cylinder is monitored by using
a rotating selector valve, which connects each cylinder in sequence to the OMD.

If the concentration of Oil mist in the measuring tube rises, the intensity of light reaching the photo-
electric cell reduces. Now as both the tubes are electrically connected, reduction in the generation of
electric current will induce an electrical imbalance between the two cells, which will lead to ringing of
the alarm.

When Oil mist is detected, the rotating selector valve immediately stops to indicate the cylinder with
high concentration of mist.On indication of an alarm, the engine should be slowed down or stopped
to prevent damage or explosion.

Maintenance
It is important to carry out routine maintenance of OMD to prevent false alarms. The sensitivity of
OMD should be checked on a regular basis. As all the samples contain a small amount of mist, the
lenses and mirrors tend to get dirty and thus require periodic cleaning. The extractor fan and the
rotating valve should be checked to avoid chocking of a particular sampling tube. The sampling
tubes that connect cylinders to the OMD should not have any loops and also shouldn’t be of length
more than 12.5 meters.
Introduction
Marpol regulations regarding discharge of oil in sea water are becoming stringent day by day. For
this purpose Oily water seperators have become compulsory on all types of ships. OWS is used to
treat the oil-water mixture from bilge spaces (read about bilge water here), oil tanks or any
compartment in the ship which has accumulated water, before discharging it to the sea. According to
one of the annexure of Marpol, water that has to be discharged should contain less than 15 parts per
million of oil. OWS is used to attain this.

Almost all OWS use gravity system for the separation of water from oil. This method allows the
system to bring down the PPM (parts per million) number to 100, which is not enough. For this
purpose, all OWS are equipped with a filtration system to bring down the PPM level. The PPM is
measured with an instrument which is similar in working to the Salinometer used to check salt ppm.

In this article we will learn about the working of such an oily water separator which has two units- A
separator unit and a filtrating unit.

Construction and working- The separator unit

The Separator unit itself consists of two parts. The first part consists of a coarse separating
compartment with an inlet for the oil-water mixture. The oily water mixture enters the compartment
through the inlet pipe.Some of the oil molecules due to their lower density will separate and rise to
the top of the mixture into an oil collecting compartment.

The remaining oil leaves the compartment, from an outlet provided at the bottom of the chamber to
the second part which is a fine separating compartment. This compartment has stationary catch
plates arrangement fixed at the center of the compartment as shown in the figure. The oil mixture
flows slowly between the catch plates. The oil from the mixture will stick to the underside of the catch
plates and slowly move outwards to rise at the top of the mixture and gets collected in an oil
collecting space.

The clean water which has PPM of around 100, flushes out of the compartment through a
pipe attached at the center of the compartment. All the oil collecting compartments are
provided with heating coils or a steam inlets for heating the oil to facilitate a free flow. The air
produced is released through a vent provided at the top of the compartment. The mixture is
then passed to the filteration unit.

Construction and working - The filtrating unit

The water that comes out of the separating unit generally has a PPM level of 100 or less. To reduce
the PPM level, it is passed to the filtrating unit. The filtrating unit also consists of two stages.

When the water enters the first stage, solid particles and physical impurities are removed with the
help of filter units. These impurities settle at the bottom of the compartment and are removed later.
The water then passes through the second stage for complete removal of oil. The second stage
uses coalescer inserts to achieve this. Coaslescer induces coalescence process between the oil
particles. Due to this process the surface tension between the oil molecules in the mixture breaks
down which makes them to stick together to form larger molecules. This large oil molecules then rise
to the top of the mixture to get collected in the collecting chamber.

The collecting chamber is emptied as and when require. The filter units are to be changed generally
once a week. The OSW system is fixed with a PPM monitoring device which keeps a continuous
check on the discharged water’s PPM level. The system raises an alarm, in case the PPM level goes
above 15.

According to Marpol, this PPM monitoring device is also compulsory on ship along with the OW

Electromagnetic Log

Application to Ship Speed Measurement

So how do we use the above formulae and principles for calculating ship speed in water? Well the
answer can be seen in the diagram below which shows the EM log arrangement and as you can see
the flow sensor is projected out into the sea water through the hull. The sea water acts as the
conductor and generates an emf and hence a current flows in the coil which is transmitted to the
bridge panel via a master unit which amplifies the signal.

The signal is converted from digital to analog format for display purposes on the speed indicator unit.
There is another generator which receives this signal and produces pulses whose frequency
increases in proportion to the magnitude of the signal thereby giving a measurement of the distance
traveled by the ship

Hence we have seen how the laws of Faraday and Maxwell help to gauge the speed and distance
covered by the ship in water.

The Faraday Maxwell Induction Law

Basically this is not a single law but there are Maxwell’s equations and the Faraday’s law. Maxwell’s
equations are actually a set of four equations which describe the behaviour of electrical and
magnetic fields though I will not go into the deep analysis of these equations in this article.

Faraday’s law is derived from the Maxwell equations and speaking in the most basic terms it simply
means that the change in the magnetic environment of a coil of wire will induce an emf in the wire
coil. The law gives a mathematical expression of this relation.

The induced voltage in the coil is proportional to the relative speed between the magnetic field and
the coil and the direction of motion.
Low expansion foam
Foam expansion ratio <20

Low expansion is commonly used on widespread hydrocarbon fires such as in tank

storage, refineries, airports and onbroad ships. A high density foam allows long
projection distances and heights using fixed/mobile nozzles or monitors, allowing
firefighting from a safe distance. Bubbles are very small, dense and heavy. The
foam blanket is stable and provides a strong cover. Low expansion foam has a good
flowability. It spreads quickly above the fuels and adheres to vertical surfaces. It
separates the fuel from oxygen supply by forming an aqueous or polymer film.
Moreover, its high ratio of water guarantees significant cooling effect. Low Expansion
foam is not sensitive to atmospheric conditions such as wind or rain.

High expansion foam

Expansion ratio of foam ≥ 200

High Expansion is mostly used on dry product fires or enclosed areas to drawn
large volume surfaces and fill cavities such as warehouse, cellars, aircraft
hangar or engine/pump rooms aboard ships. Less water used produces a very large
amount of foam in a short time, resulting in fire extinguishment by smothering. In
high expansion, bubbles are very light and large, they contain a high proportion of air.
Foam bubbles are achieved by spraying the solution onto a wide screen while a lot of
air is introduced naturally or in a forced manner. High expansion foam is not suitable
for outdoor use. High expansion foam fire extinguishing systems must be installed in
the immediate area of the potential fires.

Low expansion foam

Low expansion foams are considered to be those foams with an

expansion ratio of 12:1 when mixed with air. That is one volume if
foam concentrate will create 12 volumes of foam.
Low expansion foams are effective in controlling and extinguishing most
flammable liquid (Class “B”) fires. Foams typically used on tanker deck foam
systems are of the low expansion foam type.
High expansion foam
High-expansion foams are those that expand in ratios of over 100:1. Most systems
produce expansion ratios of from 400:1 to 1000:1. Unlike conventional foam,
which provides a blanket a few inches over the burning surface, high-expansion
foam is truly three dimensional; it is measured in length, width, height, and cubic
feet.
High Expansion Foam Concentrate and water are mixed in the correct proportion
by various methods to form a foam solution. This solution flows to the High
Expansion Foam Generator (HEFG) with a water powered motor. It is then
discharged through a nozzle onto a fine mesh stainless steel screen.
A rotating fan (powered by the water motor) in the generator forces large volumes
of air through the stainless steel screen as the foam solution is sprayed onto it.
The air mixes with the foam solution to form a large discharging mass of
stable bubbles at a rate of up to 940 gallons of expanded foam for each gallon of
foam solution

Points to ponder in high expansion foam:

The following items should also be considered:
 Because of the light weight of high expansion foam, outdoor use is impractical in
most cases.
 High expansion foam must be used in a volume confined by walls.
 Foam should not be used on water reactive materials or energized electrical
equipment