Why Cargo Ships Don't Open the Bus Ties During Maneuvering | Chief MAKOi

This was pointed out by many viewers and it could have possibly prevented the blackout on Dali. I agree. But splitting the bus by keeping the bus ties open and using two transformers is not standard practice.

Chief MAKOi
Seaman Vlog

[bubobubo]

On aircraft: bus ties are closed on the ground to enable the APU/ground power to energize the whole aircraft, but opened once all engines are running prior to takeoff. This reduces the risk of an in flight blackout.

[a-fl-man]

it's nice to hear the viewpoint of a professional actually in the business and in the trenches so to speak, as opposed to the people who aren't and their assessments.

[OldTrucker]

Love your videos chief! I have worked on heavy trucks for years so I have a grasp of things mechanical but not on ships. Your explanations are clear and concise. Be safe in your travels and✌️

[donalddodson]

Thank you, Chief. I appreciate your thorough yet understandable explanations. In safety and risk management we always say, "Safety procedures and regulations are written in the blood of those casualties which result from 'good enough' and 'we comply with the regulations' mentality." (My long version ;-)

[mitchelloates]

Old retired USN submariner, 1977 - 1997, Naval Nuclear Power Program - for many reasons, the electrical power plant on nuclear submarines are even more redundant, than that described by the one commenter that works at a civilian nuclear power plant.
Essentially, you had two large turbogenerators that fed into the main AC buses, divided between port and starboard, each with their own remotely operated breaker. And there was a remotely operated tie breaker between the main AC buses, so either turbogenerator could carry the entire load by itself.
The port and starboard AC buses were further divided into "primary" and "non-primary" buses, with a remotely operated breaker in between these sections. If those connection breakers were open for some reason, the "primary" AC buses could still be supplied via motor-generators, port and starboard, from the main DC buses, when acting as AC generators.
The main DC buses were divided similarly to the AC buses. They could be supplied from the turbogenerators in normal operation via the motor-generators operating as DC generators, from the emergency battery, and/or the emergency diesel generator - again all with remotely operated breakers.
Some of the critical propulsion systems had both an AC and a DC powered pump - so if for some reason, the AC powered pump was lost, the DC powered alternate would immediately kick in. In addition, if the main engines became inoperable for some reason, there was an emergency DC propulsion motor, that could be connected to the main propulsion machinery, to keep the propeller turning and maintain some level of propulsion.
The whole idea was to maintain propulsion and critical systems. Obviously, unlike a civilian merchant ship, operating and maintenance costs were a distant secondary consideration.
One possible outcome of what happened with the Dali, would be if they mandated an additional emergency power supply for the main engine, such that the main engine wouldn't be lost upon a loss of main electrical power, and propulsion maintained.
And, one old engineer to another, you've just earned another subscription.

[elizabethbottroff]

You have a gift for breaking down complex subjects in a way that the layman can understand. It's also interesting for me to see your views of the modern engine rooms. I came ashore in the '90s.

Thank you for that outro of the ship cutting through the calm water. It takes me back to some of my favorite moments at sea.

[ScoutCrafter]

“Potentially Catastrophic Consequences”. Anytime we can string those words together it’s a good day. Excellent video as always. 😃👍

[littlejefe]

I'm not the smartest person in the world, but the way you explain things makes me feel smart because I can understand exactly what you are saying. Thank you Chief!!

[damienvillano]

It's always refreshing to have a knowledgeable voice that's willing to speak about subjects. Great videos!

[dwayne]

One thing of note was that the bow thruster was only on one side of bus. This might present a load balance issue depending on the number of refer units tied in.

I worked at a very large nuclear power plant. All of our buses were crossed-tied. During a blackout, our emergency buses would isolate from the other buses to ensure that if the fault started elsewhere it would be isolate from the emergency bus and its equipment before our emergency diesel generators started in under 13 seconds. Even the non-emergency buses might isolate depending on what the circuit protection saw.

The advantage of always being cross-tied is if one motor shorts and causes a breaker to trip open, or some other failure happens, there is a chance that the rest of the bus can still be powered from the alternate supply. If a transformer failed, the bus would auto swap in under 5 cycles to the alternate transformer. The main infeed breaker would open and the alternate would close that fast.

Unlike a ship, we can go all the way back to the national power grid to get power, if our switchyard does not isolate on a fault. And our switchyard is supplied by three independent sources so if there is a fault, only a 1/3 of the switchyard will isolate.

We had 4 EDG, each 4400 kw and they would come up to speed in 13 seconds. Then over a two minute period, our emergency loads would be sequenced on to the bus. This was enough power for instrumentation, some lighting, and the emergency pumps to keep the reactor cool only. We only need 3 out of 4 for a normal safe shut down. If they failed we had backups to the backups.

[bc-guy]

Your channel has been one of the 'best finds' of the year. It's been a pleasure being a student to your lectures Chief.
Thank you for preparing all this great information; cool things I didn't know, I didn't know,

[tri-rrrservices]

Your ability to explain systems is excellent, definitely a characteristic of an instructor who also stays current by continuing to work in industry, which in my opinion should be a reqirement for all instructors. Too many career instructors become dry and abstract due to lack of current trade experience. Well done.

[setter]

, "Splitting the board" from memory? I was engineer on Reefer Ships in the 70s, lots of power needed gor fridge compressors especially when cooling down holds, usually 4 big generators plus harbour set, we would often need everything for cooling down, usually 3 generators on for trip especially when carrying Bananas, which from memory are pretty close tolerances? 13.5 degrees C plus or minus ½ a degree! Straight forward freezing for eg frozen meat was much much easier! I miss those days, we used to carry a designated Refrigeration engineer, 2 on some of the older ships! Along with the Electrician also 2nd electrician on the older ones, ! Were talking 8 or more mains engineers! Plus 2 Fridgees plus 2 Leckies! 😮 This is on a 10 to 12000 ton Cargo Vessel!! 🤣 Great days, long times in port! Glad i was there, saw the last of the best of it! 😊 Cheers Chief! 👍🇳🇿😊 PS, also worked on DC ships 😱 with evil looking switchboards straight out of Frankinstien! 😱🤣

[toolbox-gua]

The best tech shipping channel and with the never missed human side. Thank you.

[Vagabondo-fsqu]

Another great video Chief. I served on tankers and DPS vessels during my sea going career, and the differences were like night and day.

[jimgrant]

Thanks for the explanation. I love watching old WWII movies. When on destroyers and the crew went to 'general quarters, ' you heard engineering always reporting something like 'all 4 boilers brought on line, main bus line split.' Now I understand exactly what they mean and why it was done. Blue skies, fair weather, smooth seas, and favorable winds in all your journeys.

[w.knudsen]

When it comes to shipping, all I know is passengers, freight, leisure, and the boat floats. I am barely qualified to stand on a pier and watch them go by. I do have 17 years of industrial maintenance, so I found you addressing the busses very interesting, and you expanded my knowledge base. Thank you.

[ak-rxui]

As an old seafarer, my thanks and appreciation to Chief Makoi on his brevity, clarity and precision in explaining the Dali mishap.
I also read a lot of comments here proposing modification of the entire merchant fleet, including more engines, propellers, rudders etc🙂.

A simpler, cost effective, solution would be to legislate tug escorts (one, two or three, depending on the ships' size) when transiting sensitive or dangerous locations. That way the extra costs would fall to the entity transporting the cargo, which is only logical. Plus it would relieve the existing and future merchant fleet from the vastly increased cost and complexity of machinery and/or systems. A better way to go perhaps?

[stevenloynds]

A gentleman and a master of your trade....you are a true mentor and anyone that gets the privilege to serve under you would be an opportunity to learn from a world of knowledge in this field.

[rayoflight]

Those high voltage transformers accumulate damage invisibly and then fail all at once.
I've seen two different types of HV transformers: one type with dielectric oil, and the other type is a dry build, with copper windings annealed into a type of ceramic dielectric.
There should be measures and gauges that monitor the degradation of the transformer 's dielectric, so that there should be some grade of warning before a transformer failure; but when the failure occur, there is no going back, especially when it is hard to separate the bad transformer from the good one.
Than you Chief Makoi for your authoritative reports - I'm not a mariner but I love engineering, and your reports on these matters are among the very few which I consider valid and correct.
Greetings,
Anthony