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Contract Number:
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Design Number:
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| Library File Number: | Submitted Date: 12/22/2010 |
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SR/Terminal/Vessel: Wenatchee |
Region: WSF |
| Contract Title: M/V Wenatchee Emergency Shut Down at Terminal (Pier 52) Seattle, Washington on June 9, 2010 | |
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EXPERIENCE: Describe the particular situation or event. At approximately 05:00 hours on Wednesday June 9, 2010, the M/V Wenatchee (Official Number 1061309) was operating on the Seattle to Bainbridge Island route. The vessel was underway on route to Seattle’s Colman Terminal, when the vessel experienced a sudden over heating of all of its main engines which eventually caused damage to the vessel’s heat exchange/recovery systems. Heat exchanger/recovery systems are used on the water jackets of reciprocating engines in order to provide cooling for the engine. The secondary purpose of these exchangers on this vessel is to capture heat for heating water which is used for ship services. The vessel was able to safely dock and offload passengers and vehicles without incident. Once the vessel was securely moored all the main engines were shut down to prevent damage to them from overheating. Because the vessel’s in-port generator used the same heat exchanger/recovery systems as the main engines it could not be brought on line. This required the crew to switch to the emergency generator to supply electricity to essential services. However, initially the emergency generator failed to operate as required. The failure was quickly diagnosed and the emergency generator was restored to operation. There were no injuries and no environmental impact as a result of the incident. The extent of the damage was limited to the vessel’s heat exchanger/recovery systems in the engine room, primarily damaged gasket material. Vessel repairs were completed on Wednesday June 9, 2010 and the vessel returned to service at 19:10. The cost to repair the M/V Wenatchee in material and labor was $14,507, and fourteen scheduled departures were missed. |
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LESSON: Describe what knowledge was gained from the experience. The most likely cause of the incident was a locking lever handle not fully engaged in the locking notch on one of the two heat recovery isolation valves in the vessel’s heat exchange/recovery system. Consequently, the pressure of the water flowing over the valve face was sufficient to instantaneously and completely close the open, unlocked heat recovery isolation valve while circulation pumps were operating. This had two potential impacts on the heat exchange/recovery system. First, there may have been a water hammer effect which caused a pressure surge which damaged the gaskets in the heat exchange/recovery system. Second, a loss of cooling water flow subsequently caused the rapid expansion of water and/or the production of steam resulting from the sudden rise in heat transferred to water in the system. Either or both of these scenarios may have occurred and resulted in damage to the gasket materials in the heat exchanger/recovery system. |
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RECOMMENDATION: Describe how the knowledge gained can be used. 1. The temporary solution recommended by the staff chief, regarding wiring open valves any time the cooling system valve alignment is changed, should be adopted by all Jumbo Mark II vessels. 2. All heat recovery exchange valves with hand operated Type 1F 10 Position Throttling Handle should be replaced with valves that provide a better system for locking the valves into position. 3. Consideration should be given to replacing Type 1F 10 Position Throttling Handle or developing procedures and or training that ensure when the valves are left in the open position these valves are secured so that the valve does not instantaneously close. 4. All 10 Amp circuit breakers for the 1EP24-01 on Jumbo Mark II vessels should be replaced with a 30 Amp circuit breaker. 5. Complete the planned upgrades for a stand-alone 24 volt electronic/navigation on the M/V Wenatchee and M/V PUYALLUP at their next scheduled drydock. |
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Project Delivery Method: Design-Build Design-Build Phase: Operations |
Categories: Electrical Engine Generator Maintenance Piping |
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