Marine machinery

Marine machinery

All machinery installed on waterborne craft, including engines, transmissions, shafting, propulsors, generators, motors, pumps, compressors, blowers, eductors, centrifuges, boilers and other heat exchangers, winches, cranes, steering gear, and associated piping, tanks, wiring, and controls, used for propulsion, for ship services, and for cargo, trade, or mission services.

Practically all marine machinery elements have nonmarine counterparts; in some cases, the latter were developed from marine applications, while in other cases specific equipment was “marinized.” For marine service, machinery may have to meet higher standards of reliability and greater demands for weight and volume reduction and access for maintenance. Marine machinery must be capable of withstanding the marine environment, which tends toward extreme ambient conditions, high humidity, sea-water corrosion, vibration, sea motions, shock, variable demand, and fluctuating support services. Even higher standards may apply for warship machinery. To improve system reliability, essential equipment may be fitted in duplicate or provided with duplicated or alternative support or control systems, while nonessential equipment may be fitted with bypasses, to permit continued operation of a system following a component failure. Isolation valves or circuit breakers are common, enabling immediate repair.

Machinery on modern ships is highly automated, with propulsion usually directly controlled from the wheelhouse, and auxiliary machinery centrally controlled from an air-conditioned, sound-proofed control room, usually in the engine room. In the typical modern merchant ship (but not in passenger ships), the machinery operates automatically, and the controls are unattended at sea, with engineers called out by alarm in the event of malfunctions.

Propulsion machinery comprises an engine, usually a diesel engine, steam turbine, or gas turbine, with required gearing or other transmission system, and, for steam plants, steam generators. See Marine engine, Propeller (marine craft)