Disembarkation!

On February 14th we disembarked as part of a crew change before the ship continued on to Singapore and Korea. The ship drifted a few miles offshore while a service boat came alongside and transferred personnel via the accommodation ladder. 

Imagine being a pilot and doing this in 10 ft seas and 35 knot winds! Sea level certainly offers a different perspective on the ship

Last picture of the Apollonia before she sailed off over the horizon!

The city of Cape Town from the water. Table Mountain is in the central background, Lion's Head on the right, and Signal Hill  (the one we hiked) is the smaller one in the central foreground.

Container ship action at the port as we pulled in

Signal Hill Hike

Luckily, we had the afternoon to explore part of Cape Town before going home that evening. The majority of the city is built around the base of Signal Hill, and a short hike to the top granted us amazing views of the surrounding area. Over the course of the afternoon we experienced beautiful weather accompanied by a pleasant sea breeze and even managed to get a slight sunburn before heading home to the polar tundras of Michigan and Maine.

Table Mountain, the most easily recognizable geographic feature of the Cape Town area.

A nice valley between Lion's Head and Table Mountain.

The 2010 Fifa World Cup stadium and part of the waterfront.

At the top of Signal Hill lies a monument called "Sunstar". It is constructed from the fencing that formerly enclosed the Robben Island prison, which was an infamous symbol of the apartheid era. It was located on a small island visible from Cape Town and is a location where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years.

And so we conclude our sea term. We are very grateful to all who helped make this extraordinary experience possible! Many thanks to the crew of the Apollonia for welcoming us into their team and taking the time to share their knowledge with us. This sea term was a great adventure both technically and culturally and the skills learned will be highly valuable in our academic and professional careers.

Welcome to the Jungle

Loading Cargo in Equatorial Guinea

On February 6th the Apollonia arrived at the Punta Europa LNG terminal on an island off the coast of west-central Africa. There we loaded 160,000 cubic meters of LNG that will likely be shipped to South Korea over the next three weeks.

Equatorial Guinea is your typical African authoritarian state and petroleum products account for 97% of its exports by value. Its human rights record is abysmal, freedom of press is highly restricted, and there is only one political party. The "president" is worth about $600 million and has been in power for longer than any other non-royal ruler in the world. Meanwhile, 50% of the population don't have access to clean drinking water and one in five children die before reaching the age of five.

The question is, whose responsibility is it to ensure that wealth from a nation's natural resources is distributed fairly among the population? His properties and assets in America and France have been seized in the past. Business still proceeds as usual though and millions of dollars worth of in natural resources are exported every day. Despite the circumstances, literacy rates are rising as more children attend school and public health is slowly getting better. The road to development for third world countries can be a bumpy one indeed.

A suspension bridge that supports the cargo pipelines that run from the facility to the jetty. Although we were not able to go ashore at this port, ship was close enough to land to see that the jungle looked very wild .

Engine Work

A view inside the crankcase of one of the V-12 engines. Visible are a pair of connecting rods mounted on the crankshaft. For a sense of scale, the opening is about 2 x 2 feet. A visual inspection of the crankcases is done weekly.

A main injection pump (left) for a cylinder on one of the V-12 engines. It is controlled by the fuel rack (throttle) and driven by the camshaft that is directly below the assembly shown. The two black columns enclose the pushrods for the intake and exhaust valves.

The pilot fuel pump mounted on the non-driving end of the engine. It supplies diesel to the pilot fuel common rail system at 900 bar (13,000 psi) of pressure!

This is a partially disassembled pressure regulating unit from a pilot fuel pump. Every few days this unit triggers alarms because of a fouled filter (bottom right) and must be cleaned and replaced to continue running in gas mode. The problem is suspected to be caused by bacterial or fungal growth in the fuel system.

1500 Miles Offshore

Here are some of the different things we have been working with over the past few days while traveling through the middle of the southern Atlantic Ocean.

Lubricating Oil Purifier inspection & overhaul. Every 4000 running hours (about 5 months) these devices are dismantled, cleaned, and refurbished. We replaced all seals and O-rings and inspected the components.

The purifiers run continuously in order to separate particulates and moisture from the engine lubricating oil. This way, the oil does not need to be completely changed periodically as in a car engine. Similar purifiers are also employed in the fuel oil system to ensure that the fuel is untainted before being supplied to the engines.

The devices separate the lube oil from water and particulates based on their differences in density. When the purifiers spins at about 9000 RPM, the heavier contaminants accumulate on the outside of the chamber while the lighter lube oil remains closer to the center.

Steam valve repair. This valve is from the HFO heating line for the forward tanks. Heavy fuel oil must be heated in order to reduce its viscosity enough to be efficiently pumped and supplied to the engine when burning it as a fuel.

This globe-type valve operates by throttling or stopping the fluid flow through to an orifice within the valve. The leaking steam had eroded pits in the sealing surface, possibly because it was not shut tightly. A new surface had to be created using the lathe, a grinding tool, and various lapping compounds.

Pulling and cleaning one of two main seawater strainers. This acts as a coarse filter for all water entering the ship for cooling and ballast purposes. There were lots of yummy aquatic creatures residing in it and the smell will not be easily forgotten.

Calibrating gas detectors with a bag of methane/nitrogen mix. These detectors protect against dangerous gas build ups that could occur in the event of a leak. They sense the concentration of methane in the ambient atmosphere and are integrated with the ship's automation system.

Speaking of natural gas, this is a gas admission valve for the dual-fuel engines. When the engines are operating in gas mode, these valves control the supply of fuel gas to each individual cylinder. The duration and timing of the gas admission is controlled electronically by the engine software. Controlling the amount of gas allowed into the cylinder acts as the throttle of the engine and the flow is adjusted to maintain a speed of 514 RPM as the generator load changes.

Conversely, when operating in diesel mode, fuel injection is controlled mechanically by the governor (shown). This hydraulic device adjusts the position of the fuel rack (the throttle) in response to small fluctuations in engine speed. The fuel rack controls the amount of fuel supplied by the injection pumps to the nozzles in the cylinder heads.

Cross sectional view of a Wärtsilä 8L50DF engine, of which the ship has two.

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In other news, we were visited by a whale one sunny afternoon.

Although the ship was cruising at 17 knots, it had no problem keeping up and followed us for about five minutes.

 

By chance we also happened to cross within a mile of another ship in the middle of the ocean. The tanker was on a perpendicular course with us; probably heading towards the southern tip of Africa.

Even though we are without a landscape, there is no shortage of spectacular natural scenery. Sunsets and sunrises ignite the sky and clouds appear as landmasses at the edge of the horizon. When clear nights coincide with a new moon the stars appear as numerous as grains of sand on a beach.

Chile/Strait of Magellan Round 2

On the morning of the 18th the Apollonia arrived in Quintero for discharging. We received pilots, moored, started the cargo operation, and then took some provisions from a small boat alongside. Once everything was running smoothly, we went ashore to visit the area with some of the ship's crew.

Tug boats doing their thing. The ship did a 180 spin and then backed into the mooring space on the jetty. There also were several tankers at anchor in the harbor.

The loading arms ready to go on the jetty as we slide into our mooring space. In the background is the city of Quintero and the harbor.

The water curtain used to protect the hull in the event of a spill during cargo operations.
The -160° C LNG could cause severe damage if it contacted areas not designed for it, so the water serves to wash the LNG away and accelerate vaporization. The liquid is closer to absolute zero (-273 C) than it is to the freezing point of water. There are many challenges associated with carrying a cargo at this temperature, one being that it can literally crack the hull open if containment is lost. Safety measures are strictly followed and thankfully there has never been a major accident with LNG in the 50 years it has been transported by ship.

Staring down the barrel of  a liquid line...
The ship's 162,000 cubic meter cargo capacity is emptied and filled through four of these 16" flanged connections, usually in about 15 hours. To put it in perspective, this quantity could fill a container the size of a football field 120 ft deep with LNG. Specific procedures are followed for cooling down the lines with small amounts of LNG before operations in order not to induce thermal shock and damage.

We had a great time ashore and visited the nearby coastal cities of Viña del Mar and Valparaiso. A delicious dinner ashore with some crew mates was a welcome change from ship food.

Near the exit of the terminal... our ship is on the left at the end of the jetty.

The long beaches are a popular place for the locals and visitors alike

#art

A sundial-like figure on the boardwalk in Viña del Mar... ironic for a place that is frequently overcast. The Andes mountains that run the length of the country often cause the clouds to stack up along the coast.

The next morning, after unloading was finished, the ship departed Quintero and headed south along the same route we took previously. The weather was clearer this time, giving us beautiful views of the coastline and the Strait of Magellan.

Out of our cabin window...

Thankfully we didn't up like these guys...

Now we are crossing the Atlantic again as we head to our next destination, Equatorial Guinea!

We hold drills while underway every Saturday for various emergency situations the ship could encounter. Here we practiced lowering one of the lifeboats for an abandon ship drill (it wasn't actually put in the water).

#nofilter

        After leaving Trinidad, we headed down the east coast of South America on our way to Quintero, Chile. We are now passing through the Strait of Magellan. The strait is a narrow, twisting passage that separates the mainland of Argentina and Chile from the islands that make up the southernmost tip of the South America (the main island is known as the “Tierra del Fuego”). The climate is cold (it is summer and 50° F now) and the surrounding land is sparsely populated, but the views are quite stunning. We shot a pretty cool time-lapse video, but will probably have to wait until the end of our voyage to get a strong enough connection to share it.

            The full passage will take around twenty-four hours. In order to safely navigate through the channel, we have two pilots who joined us at the mouth of the strait.

            When pilots are going to come aboard, they typically approach the ship in a small (30-50 ft) pilot boat. Our ship slows down to allow the pilot boat to comfortably match its speed. The two vessels then stay side-by-side while the pilot boat slowly maneuvers closer until its fenders are against the side of the ship. By the time the pilot boat is close, the ship’s crew has lowered a rope ladder (called the pilots’ ladder) over the side of the ship, and they have also partially lowered the gangway. The pilot stands on the edge of the pilot boat, and when he can reach the pilots’ ladder he grabs it and climbs up to where it meets the end of the gangway. Once on the gangway, the pilot can walk up to the deck like walking up stairs. Any luggage for the pilot is pulled up beforehand by ropes tossed down by the deck crew.

The pilot boat on approach. From up high on the ship’s deck the waves and swell don’t seem that big until you see them toss a small boat around like a toy…

The gangway in its stowed position with the pilots’ ladder in the top left corner rolled up and covered in black canvass. The gangway folds out 90 degrees so that its flat side is parallel with the water. The far end then lowers, making something between stairs and a ramp 

After a few days of travelling up the Chilean coast we will reach Quintero and discharge the cargo that was loaded in Trinidad!

Trinidad!

Καλή Χρονιά!! Happy New Year!!

The Apollonia pulled into Point Fortin, Trinidad in the middle of the night on December 30^th. The loading operation began at sunrise and took about 18 hours in total. We departed in the early hours of December 31^st having been in port for about 24 hours.

Trinidad is one of the top five global exporters of LNG and the gas industry makes up a large portion of the country's economy. As the shore facility transfers the LNG into the ship’s four cargo tanks, the natural gas that occupied the empty tanks is displaced by the liquid cargo. The two high-duty (HD) compressors transfer the gas at high rate to the terminal where it can be properly handled.

On the left are the four tugs that helped the vessel maneuver when docking and departing. The shore facility’s arms can be seen connected to the ship’s manifolds. The tall white masts, one at each tank, are emergency vents to prevent damage from overpressurization. On the right is the cargo machinery room where the HD compressors send the displaced vapor ashore during loading.

The LNG terminal and jetty running out to the ship

The LNG carrier moored behind us was is in need of a paint job. It has spherical tanks (Moss-type) whereas ours are shaped like octagonal prisms (Membrane-type). These are the two main systems for carrying LNG, and each has its strengths and weaknesses.

During the middle of the loading process we had the opportunity to go ashore for the afternoon and evening. A short van ride from Point Fortin to the city of San Fernando allowed us to see a few different areas of the island. Some parts were highly westernized, as evidenced by a mall that contained chain stores like Cold Stone and Auntie Anne’s. Other areas are more traditional to the country’s interesting culture that results from the demographic consisting mostly of people of African or Indian descent. This was reflected in the delicious ethnic dishes we tried at a seafood restaurant in San Fernando. We even got our first authentic “Yeah, mon!” reply during a conversation with one of the islanders.

FYI in case ever travelling to Trinidad & Tobago…

At this point in our voyage, we've been split up during the work day to experience the different departments on the ship. Nick is working with the deck while Ian is in the engine room, and we will switch halfway through the sea term. (As we are both writing this blog, we will both write in first person plural whenever possible, but we will switch to third person singular for activities specific to either of us. Sorry for the breach of stylistic etiquette.)

The afternoon before our arrival in Trinidad Nick worked with the deck crew preparing the lines and winches for mooring. Despite their enormous size, the operation of the winches is fairly straightforward, consisting of sets of drums controlled by brakes and clutches and driven by a hydraulic motor. The hydraulic system is powered by electric motors located in the steering gear room (aft) and bosun locker (forward).

The mooring line arrangement on the aft deck. Although they are only 42mm in diameter, each synthetic line has a breaking strength of 127 tonnes!

While life on deck became increasingly busy as port approached, the engine room remained relatively unaffected. Ian typically helped the engineers with the numerous maintenance and operation jobs performed each day. Some were scheduled preventative measures to keep everything running smoothly such as changing filters or opening and cleaning various pieces of machinery. Other jobs were simply part of running the ship such as starting up the fresh water generator or transferring waste oil from a holding tank to the incinerator service tank. Still other jobs were corrective operations needed to fix machinery problems or respond to alarms.

One of two plate-type freshwater generators on the ship, which use hot engine cooling water to boil sea water in a vacuum. The plates seal against each other with gaskets under the clamping force of the tie bolts. Each unit can produce 35,000 liters of freshwater a day, which is used for domestic purposes as well as in the engine room for machinery cooling and boiler feed water. 

Illustration showing fluid flow through the two kinds of plates in the FW generator. The plate stack alternates between heat transfer (left) and distilling stages (right). Green is seawater, red is hot jacket water from the generator engines, and blue is the condensed freshwater. (Source: Alfa Laval) 

We crossed the equator yesterday. Next stop is Quintero, Chile via the Strait of Magellan!