Viking Sky Cruise Ship looses 4(?) engines??

[ralexa6808]

https://www.foxnews.com/world/the-latest-cruise-ship-lines-founder-weve-been-lucky

I know it's way too early to identify causes, but......Can anyone tell me how you lose 4 engines, and cant restart any of them?

Eventually, they were able to start one engine but I guess it wasn't enough to keep them out of trouble.

One of the main reasons I got a Hatteras was that there were two diesel engines....and having that redundancy if I ever lost/ or shut down an engine would almost always get you home.

Having four engines would I think make it statistically highly improbable that you could loose all four and also not be able to restart any of them.

Any opinions / thoughts?

Here's a Wiki Article about the boat:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Viking_Sky

Correction: It has 4 engines, but only two wheels on this boat (per Wiki Article)

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Answer: Electronic controls. Think Blue screen on your computer.


One reason I love my mechanical DD's.

 

[madhatter1]

I have DD,s and mechanical Cummins. The only way any will stop running other than fuel is they have to actually be BROKEN! While electronics make engines quiet, more fuel efficient (debatable, certainly not on my trucks), and definitely more powerful they are way less reliable.

Then take the electronics and subject them to the worst environment ever, salty air. What could go wrong?

 

[Passages]

A number of folks (3 to be exact) at my marina bought brand new boats last year. A 38' Tiara, a 41' Back Cove and a 52' Carver.
All had the latest in electronic controls and interface. All cost between $800k to well over a mil.

2 of the three have been nothing but trouble. The Back Cove recently went dead in the water and had to be towed in due to miscommunication between steering, autopilot and the engine.
The Carver had issues with Generator not starting, thrusters not engaging, and transmission not going into gear.

There is something to be said for the vintage mechanical systems.

 

[Pascal]

Dieeel electric. 4 generators and two propulsion electric motors. Could have been a massive electric problems where power from the gens couldn’t the sent to the motors. I know the articles say all 4 engines failed but I don’t trust what a reported these days and doubt the average journalist knows the difference between generaroenand propulsion motor.

If all 4 gens shut down then the most likely common element is fuel.

Who knows.

My beef about this and other recent incidents is the fact that they are sending Cruising ships in severe storms. These are not the sea worthy ocean liners of the 50a and 60s designed to handle the north atlantic .

 

[rustybucket]

If all 4 gens shut down then the most likely common element is fuel.

That was my first thought, the ship was rocking heavily, probably more than it ever has. I'm sure it stirred up all kinds of sludge/debris in what are massive fuel tanks. Wouldn't take much of that to plug every filter they had onboard.

 

[Pascal]

Another El Faro screw up

https://gcaptain.com/norway-low-oil-pressure-caused-viking-sky-engine-blackout/

 

[Freeebird]

Another El Faro screw up

https://gcaptain.com/norway-low-oil-pressure-caused-viking-sky-engine-blackout/

Brilliant.

That aside, why did they not just tow the thing vs what was described as a, "high risk", evacuation by chopper?

I would think riding it out on the hook would be a better option, assuming the water depth would allow it. I didn't follow the story all that closely, but were the passengers in real danger or just real uncomfortable?

 

[Pascal]

I looked at the AIS shortly after it happened, they drifted quite a distance until the anchors set just a couple of hundred yards from shore. They were within minutes of grounding on a rocky shoreline driven by 40kts winds and 20’ seas.

I guess no ocean going tug could get on scene quickly enough

 

[Finalee]

Their saying engine oil level. Ha! What a twist. Fuel is the only thing that makes sense.

 

[Pascal]

Their saying engine oil level. Ha! What a twist. Fuel is the only thing that makes sense.

Apparently they just pulled data from the ship computers to find the cause. These are almost new engines full of sensors and recorders. Even small yachts have had system monitors for years.

the rolling or pitching motion can be such that the pick up will be exposed. Actually I once had a Northern light genset shut down on Exuma bank after one larger than average wave with a non stabilized boat

 

[rustybucket]

I mean the low-oil shutdown makes sense.... but really... I mean shouldn't the capt have the ability to override that auto-shutdown?

If it were my boat, and I was in charge of all those people's lives and staring down a potential hard grounding in nasty seas I wouldn't care if I melted the engines, I would not want them to stop until they were seized. I'm good with warnings...etc and maybe an initial shutdown, but I'd want a way to override that and fire them back up.

Sometimes I really feel like we outsmart ourselves with all the 'smart' sensors deciding when stuff should shut down or quit working.

 

[Westfield 11]

It seems that left unobserved the corporate world will tend to prioritize protection of machinery over people. They certainly do in this case. I understand there is an obligation to protect and preserve the shareholders capital investments, but what about protecting the passengers?

 

[Boatsb]

I cant believe there is not an emergency override. Even outboard motors with oil injection had a low oil mode where they limited rpm for emergencies.

 

[Pascal]

If there is one condition we’re you want a shut down it is oil pressure. An engine may survive a brief overheat, low fuel pressure etc but it will not survive a complete loss of oil pressure. It may survive low pressure or a brief loss, but anything sustained and it s game over. At least in this case they were able to get anchors to set and restart the engines later on

 

[SEVEN]

Someone is getting fired.

 

[Dan Mapes]

From what I gather, the oil level was within spec but on the low side. I think that says there is a design issue associated with the tanks and pickups. It would be interesting to see a schematic of the lube system, especially the shape of the tanks and capacity.

 

[Finalee]

I would like to the schematic too. I don't understand..

 

[krush]

I mean the low-oil shutdown makes sense.... but really... I mean shouldn't the capt have the ability to override that auto-shutdown?

LOL the captain overide an auto shutdown? On these real ships, the mates don't run the ship, the engineers do.

With that said, the automation system should have a time delay on engine shutdown in case of slight variation in oil pressure. Also, assuming the guys in the engine room knew their stuff, this should not have been a big deal to solve or overide. I think there is much more to the story.