Smith-Hull

7 Dec 2016 and passed it from HULL MCA

please see the questions below

The after introduction inspection of documents passport, visa,present COC, CDC, sea service testimonials..
1) As chief engineer, how would find you find data about surveys , inspection and audits due and where will you find it.
2) As chief engineer what all will you check as you join the ship
3) As chief engineer what are your responsibilities, Ans -expected to differentiate the technical and management aspect( as in team members , care for team, giving proper rest, keeping team motivated and interested , team to understand the importance of their roles)
4) What is the function of a circuit breaker – mainly as short circuit protection with other function
5) Refrigeration – how do you know there is moisture in the system, what are the symptoms , how do you identify it and how do you remove moisture from the system(vacuum pump)
6) What is the most important issue with high voltage systems and why circuit main earth and other earth leads are connected
7) What do look for before bunkering (specs), if specs are good and meet the standards and you bunkered and when you receive the analysis you find out the actual oil is out is specs example( sulphur is supposed to less than 3.5 % but analysis is found to be more than 3.5 %)
What will you do and who all need to informed ( I answered – note of protest to supplier, to inform the post state of the water we are operating in, inform our own flag state, the answer the surveyor was expecting was that we need to inform the flag state of where the oil was bunkered because they would be able to investigate it. also when the first sample showed results, you would also need to send the 2nd sample for the test as well.
8) How is you ships electrical system as in voltage produced, what voltage does your Propulsion electric motor , thruster, operate at ( for my ships generators were 11KV, PEM 3.3 KV, thrusters 11KV
9) What type of fire detectors are fitted and how does testing of the flame detector done.( on my ship we use a high power focus lamp given by the manufacturer)
10) He asked me if I have been working on 4 stroke engines I said yes, so he asked told me let me ask you about 2 stroke, how do you identify there is scavenge fire, what are the symptoms, I started with temp sensors in the space , the scavenge space fire alarm, peeling off of the paint, exhaust gas temp etc, and I told him could be piston blow by and the collection of oil due to partially blocked drains,
11) He then asked ok now you have replaced the piston and piston rod , cleaned up the space, what else as chief engineer would you need to inspect, he hinted about engine being secured and I answered tie rods to check for tightness.
12) he asked what actions would you take for the scavenge space fire, i said slowdown and bridge permitting stop the engine, put covers on the turbo charge filters to stop more air from supporting burning) , he was waiting for more answer and was waiting for me to tell fire fighting systems like steam and dry powder.
13) Then why would the tie rods become loose and what happens to the tie rods.
14) He wanted me to discuss about the condition based maintenance than just following the schedule to open equipment for inspection and how it has to be understood with continuous survey of machinery and then asked to explain what i thought was better and why i wouldn’t want to simply open an equipment and what things are available to check performance of the equipment to see the performance, ( explained about it with pressure gauges, Amp meter on panels, flow meters on lines, vibration monitoring reading on a monthly basis, thermal camera surveys for hot spots)
Sir this is most of what i can remember, the orals went on for about 1 hour 15 minutes, the surveyor was very professional, cordial and maintained it more like a friendly chat than an exam and kept marking for the answers, at times he would put us into a pressure situation while asking to see how we react and respond.
he did give me feedback that’s why i have been able to express it to you as well, he was not happy with one answer but was ok with it for the refrigeration question he asked me about moisture and what would happen when using a vacuum pump and i said the moisture would evaporate, he was looking for me to say the moisture would have it boiling point reduced and flash off for which i kept saying evaporates. he did tell me to answer from the simple things and move to the more complicated solutions.
Since he knew i worked on passenger ships and he was also chief for 10 years on passenger ships, he asked me about various smaller points on passenger ships with regards to specialised position and team and how crucial it is to be able to manage the team effectively.
i asked few students who also went for orals on the same day and he had varied his questions to people from different ships also asking on questions on enclosed space entry, procedures and stability, MLC, dry dock procedures,anchor and chain inspections, cylinder liner cracks. so it was clear he was looking at various aspects with his questions.