NEW ENGINEERS' FIRST DAY

Today we requested a break from tracing systems (“if you have anything else for us to do…ANYTHING…”) and worked with the 2^nd and 3^rd engineers on some purifiers. Always more purifiers. I worked with the 2^nd, Chris, to put back together the HFO purifier that the 3^rd and I took apart on the day we got into Oakland (a glorious act of destruction). Andy worked with the 3^rd today to clean and repair a lube oil purifier.

The HFO purifier we were working on (#3) has 2 water inlets. One has significantly less pressure than the other. We know this because we tested them and I only got covered in water once. However, we have determined that the problem is not inside the purifier, so we are putting it back together after replacing some o-rings, springs, and seals (the parts that wear out and need to be replaced every so often).

This morning, Andy and I also repaired a pressure-controlled valve on the #1 purifier. The 2^nd engineer noticed it was leaking, probably because of a problem with the diaphragm. There was black oil everywhere, it was exciting. We isolated the valve and took it apart (the diaphragm was ripped in 2 places), cleaned it out (it was full of oil), replaced the diaphragm and put it back together. They turned the purifier on after lunch and all works fine again. Success!

Other exciting parts of today: Something has gone wrong with the 3^rd seawater pump. This pump is HUGE. It’s like, person-sized. And it was spraying seawater everywhere instead of pumping it like it should. We got the valves closed eventually (I actually helped very little, especially since it took me a long time to find a pipe wrench because I forgot the difference between a wrench and a pipe wrench) and there are 2 more seawater pumps working instead. The 2^nd exciting thing that happened today is that someone was running the HFO transfer pumps with all the valves closed…oops. The 3^rd exciting thing of today is that we got more snacks in the control room. Yes!