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Thread: scavenge fires

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    Default scavenge fires

    Scavenge Fires
    During the fruit season we sailed light ship from the UK, with only enough bulkers to get us as far as Durban.
    On this particular voyage we sailed from the UK heading south, orders were for Durban, which was unusual, but not out of the ordinary.
    We sailed by the Cape heading North on the east coast, arrived Durban, for what was to be a full cargo of fruit, which in itself was unusual.
    After spending a week loading, it was announced Friday morning that we would be sailing Friday afternoon, usual late minute panic to get everything ready for sailing.
    Everything was made ready, engine warming through, then it was announced sailing delayed until 20:00 hours die to cargo loading problems.
    It was also announced that we would be sailing North to Beira to collect the remaining cargo of fruit, again unusual as Durban, was the furthest North Port in the Fruit season.
    Standby over, a quick look on deck, showed a brilliant blue sky, flat calm sea, nothing to worry about.
    Time to get changed a quick beer or two before turning in, as we were sailing on the coast UMS was suspended, and we were sailing with a 4E., again unusual.
    On the Ranald the Engineers changing room was situated thwart ship, with showers lockers etc.
    Most of us had disgorged our boiler suits, heading for a shower, when the Minerva Fire Alarm sounded, it indicated that a fire was burning on the E.R tops.
    The construction of the Ranald was such, exiting from the changing rooms you were faced with a Lub oil tank, turn left the M.E. exhaust, turn right a further oil tank, before opening onto the M.E. Tops.
    With much cursing and swearing, overalls dawned, entry was greeted by a wall of black smoke, which you could have cut with a knife.
    That’s when we found out adrenalin was brown.
    The ‘R’S’ had a seven cylinder B&W two stroke 7 inline cylinder engine.
    Four cylinders forward, three aft, in-between, chain case, air distributor etc., commonality was the scavenge space.
    No. 7 cylinder scavenge space had caught fire followed by five and six.
    All the engineers gathered in the control room, watching the alarm panel light up like a Christmas tree, bridge control kicked reducing rpm to 50.
    The C.E. announced we are in trouble if the fire breaches the space between 5 and four cylinders, whereupon No . 4 scavenge space indicated it was on fire.
    The old man was monitoring all conversations and announced that there was no problems till about 04:00, when the tide would turn and we would be driven towards the coast.
    Between the Old Man and the C.E. it was decided that the E.R Co2 would be discharged in order to halt the fire, didn’t even dent it/
    The hold Co2 system was switched to the E.R. system as a backup and ready to use at a moment’s notice.
    At approximately 01:00 the C.E. decided to split his party into two,, J2, me and the fourth were sent to bed, whilst the remainder were left on duty.
    Next morning, the engine sounded sick, whilst the noise from the funnel was like something from a carry on film, gloopty, gloop, gloopty, gloop, with white puffs of smoke coming from the funnel.
    We limped to Beira, were granted emergency status in order to carry out repairs, straight to berth repairs carried out loaded and sailed for UK.
    Scared?, initially yes, when settled down to our duties, didn’t think about it.
    Vic

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    Default Re: scavenge fires

    I was fortunate I stayed mainly on the steamships with yhe King Arthur which was an old Doordexception of a coastal on the clan alpine which I think was a B&W from memory . Never had a scavenge fire but I think that was luck rather than judgement
    Last edited by robpage; 18th September 2018 at 08:29 PM.
    Rob Page R855150 - British & Commonwealth Shipping ( 1965 - 1973 ) Gulf Oil -( 1973 - 1975 ) Sealink ( 1975 - 1986 )

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    Default Re: scavenge fires

    Remember we had a scavenge fire on the British Cormorant, she was powered by a B&W opposed 2 stoke engine, was on passage to Lulea I was 8-12 junior engineer it started at night luckily it was only on a couple of cylinders. Chief was down and stayed until it cleared. The procedure was to do just above slow ahead, isolate the fuel supply and increase the lube oil to max. on the cylinders on fire. Scavenge drains closed but I remember the chief kept opening them and filling the engine room with carbon smoke and sparks. Kept us coughing our guts out most of the watch. Burnt itself out so obviously only small fires, remember cleaning all scavenge spaces and checking packings etc. in Lulea.

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    Default Re: scavenge fires

    We had one daily on a 3 cylinder doxford I was on , took us over 3months for a passage from BA to Japan. although they say there is no need to stop the engine just slow down to lessen the fuel supply , we used to stop for a few hours every day until it went out. Another ship the Pennyworth which Jim was on and 10 years later, the engineers took the doors off and they had a crank case explosion, all the engineers and the electrician were badly burned as all were down the ER at the time 7 of them. Ship had to go into St. John’s Newfoundland , would have been about 1965. I was having a charmed life again as was having a trip off to go on holiday with the family. Much prefer it when all these accidents and mini disasters happen that I am not there. JWS
    Last edited by j.sabourn; 18th September 2018 at 11:35 PM.

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    Default Re: scavenge fires

    I would suggest that taking the doors off was the last thing that a person would have ever done is the quickest way to feed more oxygen to some very hot Metal and watch it go bang but still, having been in a situation where the white mackerel add melted out of the generator bottom end bearings and there was a lot of very very hot Metal in a generator crankshaft I had a chief engineer whose thought that he put his head in and have a look I managed to get the span of his hand and get him out of the engine room
    Rob Page R855150 - British & Commonwealth Shipping ( 1965 - 1973 ) Gulf Oil -( 1973 - 1975 ) Sealink ( 1975 - 1986 )

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    Default Re: scavenge fires

    #5 Just what I was Told Rob. Was not there and pleased about that. Have just found in an old exercise book written in longhand the draft of a statement I was trying to write out re a collision I was involved in , in 1962. However can’t even read my own handwriting so will maybe not make sense. The initial enquiry was in BA which I did not attend. However reading it again 56 years later seems to leave out a lot of what really happened. Thus is. The way of enquiries I suppose. The less said the better. Will try and decipher my own writing and put it as best I can in the appropriate place however anyone reading it will have to allow for the bad deciphering of the language at the time. However as was written at the time must have a bit of truth in there somewhere. Cheers JWS
    Last edited by j.sabourn; 19th September 2018 at 03:22 AM.

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    Default Re: scavenge fires

    I was once told keep it true and simple, you get hung on detail
    Rob Page R855150 - British & Commonwealth Shipping ( 1965 - 1973 ) Gulf Oil -( 1973 - 1975 ) Sealink ( 1975 - 1986 )

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    Default Re: scavenge fires

    Tell me about it, Re the collission in the Plate the old man kept me out of it , probably because if I said too much it may have put him in a bad light. So even not in attendance at the enquiry had to be careful of what said in written one. On arriving back in the Uk 3 months later with temporary repairs , and going into your favourite dry dock Smiths next to the Jungle the company’s solicitors came on board and said to me off the record what happened.? I said off. The. Record she was sliding in the mud. Thank you he said your the only one who has said what. We believed. As no loss of lives the NE shipowners Indemnity insurance paid most of the damage. Cheers JS
    Last edited by j.sabourn; 19th September 2018 at 06:06 AM.

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    Default Re: scavenge fires

    Any kind of fire on a ship can prove deadly, even one sin port.

    On the Windsor in Durban on sailing day, changing from the donkey power used in port to the main engines.
    Something went very wrong as the donkey caught fire, an electrical fault was blamed initially as the reason and panic set in as the settling tanks with large amounts of fuel were situated along side the donkey.


    It took some time for the fire to be brought under control with all the crew, apart from engineers and me on the funnel deck, were ashore as emergency alarms had been activated.
    The chief engineer, Abercrombie, told me later just how lucky we were that it did not get any worse.
    Happy daze John in Oz.

    Life is too short to blend in.

    John Strange R737787
    World Traveller

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    Default Re: scavenge fires

    Was that the Clan Alpine that ended up on the beach at Chittagong late 50s or early 60s by a hurricane? I don't think she ever got off - too far inland.

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