El Faro

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The Dieselduck
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El Faro

Post by The Dieselduck »

Does anyone have, or has seen any particulars of the propulsion plant on the MV El Faro, the US con ro ship that went down in the Hurricane, off the Bahamas a few weeks ago?

I keep hearing about the boilers... was she a steam ship?
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Merlyn
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Re: El Faro

Post by Merlyn »

See she was a single screw double reduction steam turbine ship, don't know what make though. Usual stories bandied about re oil pressure feed / boiler probs seemingly 15000 feet down , don't know re AIS or EPIRP angles as yet.
Remembering The Good Old days, when Chiefs stood watches and all Torque settings were F.T.
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Re: El Faro

Post by The Dieselduck »

oh boy an actual steam ship... thanks for the info

I think I found some specs, from sister ship, El Morro, incidentally it was hull number 666.

SS Puerto Rico
later names Northern Lights 1991, El Faro 2006,
Official Number ON 286749
Ro-Ro
Price 30.0 mil
Delivered 16-Jan-75
shipyard: Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., USA
yard / hull number: 670
engine design: GE
engine type: Turbine
power output (KW): 11.190
maximum speed (Kn): 22,0
overall length (m): 223,70
overall beam (m): 28,00
maximum draught (m): 12,80
maximum TEU capacity: 1200
deadweight (ton): 16.337
gross tonnage (ton): 28.137
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Re: El Faro

Post by JK »

I was wondering the same thing after reading about the boiler maintenance. Thanks for answering my question too!
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Re: El Faro

Post by Merlyn »

General Electric turbines then, moving up your way I see, good memories of the old turbine days, loads of asbestos in the air every day like a smog, can't believe I am still running on six to date anyway. Hours spent dienutting all those lower casing studs about 5 inches apart, hundreds of them on each set. All that lovely blading exposed, what a work of art indeed. Loads of beer money re the kidney pads white metal scrapped here. I can still see those vernier height gauges on each corner and four people calling out the measurements as we operated four sets of chain blocks to ensure the reaction blading did not touch the impulse blading when raising the covers. Those blade stiffeners, seem to remember they were mono metal or similar, Curtis wheels for the astern blading. Then Pamatrada came out in the early sixties, no one could understand how you could get the necessary expansion between the HP, IP and LP when it was all under one cover, no runs of expansion piping here between sets, weird or what. Touch of back to the old bearing scraper days here a bit. So if you people over there decide to swallow the anchor and get a job at GEC don't forget that when you dig out your old bearing scraper and regrind the horns that they are hollow ground so make sure you have the right diameter fine grinding stone and follow the offset curvature of the scraper correctly or you could wreck the tool. Just thought I would mention that in passing what with the passage of time and gin. Oh and don't forget, imperial scraper v metric to be taken into consideration here.
Remembering The Good Old days, when Chiefs stood watches and all Torque settings were F.T.
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The Dieselduck
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Re: El Faro

Post by The Dieselduck »

oh my, what a difference forty years makes in the biz, I think I was able to follow 50% of what you were talking about, ehehhe.
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Re: El Faro

Post by Merlyn »

JK, your bearing scraper metric or imperial?
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Re: El Faro

Post by JK »

Imperial of course! Highly doubt I could grind it now though, if I ever could.
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Re: El Faro

Post by Merlyn »

Good answer JK but in order to achieve your extra Chiefs Ticket the powers to be require you to complete one further question. Right or left hand? Just looked at mine, it's stamped with an A? Careful now.
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Re: El Faro

Post by JK »

Look at what?
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Re: El Faro

Post by Merlyn »

Why the shaft of the bearing scraper, by the makers name, VL Churchill was the make over here. Mine is stamped A to the right of the manufacturers stamp. There is a very important reason for this. If you can't locate it perhaps a bar magnet?
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Re: El Faro

Post by Merlyn »

JK , Can't find it? JJ, what's stamped on yours? Can you help us out here?
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Re: El Faro

Post by JK »

sorry, working
I don't have one to look at but if I remember correctly, they weren't handed
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Re: El Faro

Post by dmaloof »

Has anyone heard the possibility that the clappers to close the El Faro's ducts may have been broken before sailing, and ona repair list, causing the initial water incursion? if that occurred, and the ship then listed to 15 degrees, would the steam engines have functioned or could that account for the loss of power?
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