BLOG 47 - 'Marine Musings 12' - "Trianon" - Stuck in the Refrigerated Hold Battery Room and Freezing

Courtesy generalcargoship.com

Typical Refrigerated Cargo Cartons Stacking in Progress in Reefer Hold - Note the Gaps Between the Stacks

Chapter 4 – 'Marine Musings 12' - The Second Time I Have a Brush with Death

During the voyage, I was the one who used to enter the fan room of the refrigerated cargo chambers and check if the motors were running, icing on the coils and whether we should defrost and generally inspect the area. We could enter the space by opening a water tight door on the forward bulkhead of the engine room and step into an ante chamber between the port and starboard chambers at the mid level, with ladders taking one up to the level above or below.

Once in the antechamber, one has access to one heavy, insulated door for each chamber. Opening this door takes you into the so called ‘battery room’ where the circulating fans and cooling coils are situated. Opening an inner door in the battery room would give me a look at the stacks of cartons containing the cargo. Using a 'poke in' thermometer, I would check the temperature of a random carton. But my main interest was in the condition of the cooling coils, how much ice has deposited itself on the coils, so we can think of water defrosting. The outer doors are pretty heavy and I was barely able to force it open. So, I usually took one of the crew members to help with the door.

One day, out at sea, the ship was rolling. I had told the Chief Engineer that I was going to inspect the coils, as one of the chambers was showing a slightly higher temperature. Like an idiot, I went in to the ante chamber alone and managed to open one door. As the check that I wanted to make would involve a time period below 30 seconds, I left the outer door open and went in. The ship rolled and the door shut very tightly. Try as I may, I could not open the door from the inside. I was not wearing even a duffel coat, only a cotton boiler suit and the temperature inside was -18 degrees C. I started thinking of ways of shorting one of the motor circuits, which would then sound the alarm in the Engine Room. I had a torch and a spanner in my pocket.

Meanwhile, as the Chief Engineer had not heard from me for more than 15 minutes, he rang down to the Engine Room to talk to me. My usual routine was to inspect the chambers and call him on the phone to tell him of conditions. He was calling down since I had not phoned. Immediately on realising I may still be in one of the ‘battery rooms’ and may be stuck inside, he got all the Engine staff to enter the ante chamber, open all doors and look for me. I was in the first one, climbing above the cooling coils to try and break one of the fans by inserting the spanner I had. They found me just before I did so, but none the worse for wear. He, thus, saved my life.

After that, on the basis of a ‘risk assessment’, Chief and I defined a protocol for entry into these spaces. We also arranged with Head Office to install an alarm push button in all the 6 battery rooms that would sound an alert and alarm in the Engine Room.

Needless to say, we carried this cargo to Kuwait successfully and earned a very good name from the Management as well as the parent company. We carried the cargo from Japan to Kuwait without a hitch. Wilhelmsen were extremely pleased and gave us a bonus. They also asked for a detailed report on refrigerated cargo holds’ preparation for cargo, which we provided them.

It is of importance to note that different reefer cargoes need different temperatures, different systems of handling and different methods of ventilation. Fruits give out gases, some of which will increase the carbon dioxide content and lower the oxygen content in the battery room. There are any number of recorded instances where an Electrician has gone in to check a motor and collapsed due to insufficient oxygen. ‘Risk assessment’ must be done for each type of reefer cargo and protocols established before entry. This should be similar to the present day ‘Enclosed Space Entry’ checklist and precautions.

Courtesy shipbusiness.com

Path of Cold Air Flow in a Reefer Hold

Courtesy owaysonline.com

A simplified Refrigeration Plant Layout

Chapter 4 – Miscellaneous Musings

The Chief Engineer hardly came down to the Engine Room after the first few weeks. He used to spend his time doing ‘The Times of India’ crossword puzzles, a sheaf of which had been cut out of the newspaper and posted to him by his wife. There were many days when he would wait for me to finish my evening watch. I would have a shower and join him for a beer. Most of the days, his first question to me, as he looked up, would be "Second Saab, what is a 6 letter word for ----" or some such.

After the first few months, I used to spend a lot of time picking his brains that only an experienced Chief Engineer would know. Surveys, dealing with the Head Office, dealing with difficult Captains (the irony being that Captains had difficulty in dealing with him), what are the rights of a Chief Engineer (an Office communication may ask you to do a job that may just be infringing the law) and any kind of foolish question that used to pop into my head. He would patiently discuss it in detail and answer it.

After a few months, the Chief Engineer's wife joined the ship. She had brought along plenty of dried 'Bombay Duck' for all to enjoy. All the staff were delighted and helped her to prepare the dish in the pantry, to be served at dinner. I came up at 6.30 pm for dinner. In spite of always being a total vegetarian, the various smells of non vegetarian dishes never bothered me. This time, the smell of bombay duck was over powering and I slipped back into the Engine Room. I could not come up till around midnight. The same thing happened the following evening.

machlibazaar.com

Bombay Duck

Not having seen me during the evening hours, the Chief Engineer rang down to the Engine Room to talk to me. Instead, he got the Fourth Engineer on line. When

asked what is Second Saab doing and why he has not come up for dinner, the Fourth blurted out that "Second Saab is uncomfortable because of the fish smell pervading the accommodation, which is why he is not coming up."

The Chief Engineer immediately realised that I was not coming up because of the frying smell of bombay duck, although I had not complained. I was the only vegetarian on board but felt that it would be wrong on my part to say anything adverse, as everyone else were obviously enjoying the dish, all with lip smacking, appreciative comments. But Mr Remedios did not see it that way.

Next morning when I went to his office - which was attached to his cabin - I saw his wife sitting and sobbing. I gently asked her why she was crying and she said "Ranga, he just took the whole lot of bombay duck packets and threw them overboard without an explanation". I was crestfallen as I realised I was the cause. I confronted him about his actions. His reply was "If my Second Engineer cannot come into the accommodation because of a smell, then I am entitled to get rid of the cause of the smell". It was rather harsh for all the others, especially his wife and I told him so. But he was steadfast in his position that "If my Second Engineer cannot come up to take rest, then I will take action". I apologised to his wife and told her I was the cause of the item being disposed off overboard. She, on her part, was magnanimous enough to understand her husband's stand. Peace prevailed.

This, being a general cargo ship, was the first where I was seeing an incredible amount of cargo gear at work. Derricks capable of lifting various tonnages - the maximum being 40 mt - and cranes of 25 ton capacities. The electrical maintenance was quite stressful.

After a few months, the Chief Officer changed and a very experienced one joined the vessel. Working with the Chief Officer, I learnt a lot about setting up derricks, overhauling blocks and tackles. I suggested better methods of overhauling them and also renewing bearings where required. I worked with the Electrical Officer on Cranes and Deck Machinery and recalled a lot of things that I had learnt in the Electrical Workshop when I was an apprentice.

Within 3 months, I had taken over all the paper work that the Chief Engineer had to do, in order to familiarise myself with the Office paper work. I had also asked my Father to subscribe for the International Edition of ‘The Hindu’ to be sent to the Hong Kong office, which they would forward to each port. I kept abreast of the news in this way. A costly ‘Sony’ World wide Band radio became my constant companion for the latest news. I especially became an avid listener of the BBC, whose broadcast could be received on this radio set even in mid sea.

One of the most endearing weekly programs broadcast was ‘Letters from America’ by Alastair Cook, a Britisher who had settled in the USA. Unforgettable. Had I been working ashore in India, I may not have even been aware of such a program.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alistair_Cooke

About nearly 4 months into the contract, an intimation came from the Hong Kong Office that they are intending to transfer the 3rd Engineer to the next take over, MV Thermopylae (I think). But I was thinking differently. The Third Engineer had his 2nd Class Certificate for quite a while, but had remained 3rd Engineer, as his Assessment Reports were consistently average. He had not gained any experience till he joined up with me. Basically a very good person, he lacked the fundamentals. He changed from an unsure person to a very confident one under my tutelage. I was thinking of suggesting his promotion on this ship when I left on leave. By then the Chief Engineer also would have changed.

But they wanted a 3rd Engineer for the next takeover. I suggested, through the Chief Engineer, to transfer the 4th Engineer and promote him on the other ship, which was accepted. This 4th Engineer was really raw when he joined my ship, but he was intelligent, a willing worker and a quick learner. Being in the 8~12 watch, he was my right hand man and was really my protégé. I was loathe to lose him, but for his sake I let him go. I did not come across him again.

About 8 years later, when I was Chief Engineer, I went to relieve another Chief Engineer on the Willine Taro. We did a parallel voyage of about 5 days before he signed off. What was surprising was that he seemed to know everything about me, even though we were meeting for the first time. When I asked him, he said “Yes, your 4th Engineer came as 3rd Engineer on the Thermopylae. I was the 2nd Engineer. After a few days, whenever we had to do a complicated job and I planned it one way he would say ‘But Sir, Mr AR (me) used to do it this way. After a few days, I got fed up and, before starting any job, would ask him ‘And how would Mr AR do this job?’ And he would gleefully explain. I realised he hero worshipped you. To instil that amount of loyalty in any one is amazing”.

A rather amusing series of episodes took place, all related to the Electrical Officer. He was good at his job but rather lazy. He had a habit of drinking heavily at night and would not turn up for work at the stipulated time of 0800H. I would go up at around 0815H, wash, have breakfast, knock on his cabin door without any response and then go down to the Engine Room. After about 20 to 30 minutes, he would cross my line of sight and seem busy. He would talk to one of the staff and, later, come to me and say “2nd Saab, I believe you were searching for me. I was in the steering flat / forward store / elsewhere. Any work for me?”. This cat-and-mouse game went on for 2 weeks or so, till I caught him red handed, coming out of his cabin. A good taking-to and he became alright.

But he was corrupting the new 4th Engineer. After the 4th Engineer finished his watch at midnight, he would keep the Electrical Officer company and drink till the early hours of the morning. He then could not wake up in time for the morning watch or he would be smelling of alcohol if he did come down at 0800H for his watch. I had to send him out of the Engine Room quite a few times, so that he is not a danger to himself or others in the state he was in. I spent interminable hours trying to change him, without shouting at him, but to no avail. He himself resigned in a few weeks as he had become very weak.

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