In January this year, Sanmar Sonata sailed from Europe to New York. Capt P P Rao of Sanmar Shipping, with over 20 years’ experience as a Master of ships, was well aware of the ways of the sea. It was the first time Sanmar Sonata was going to face ice cold weather. Capt Rao had already taken all precautions. Narasimhan, the Chief Officer, was making a checklist.
Narasimhan was particularly worried about the pressure vacuum valves, the breather for the cargo tanks. As the cargo tanks freeze, the pressure drops and the vacuum valve opens to allow some air in. If the valve fails to breathe, the vacuum inside the tanks could reach dangerous limits. Narasimhan had to keep the valves free of ice. He took the fitters with him and set on the job. Clearing the first valve free of ice took almost an hour and a half. He had to clear all the thirteen valves within a day.
Working on the deck in harsh winter seas could be killing. The cold winter winds and sea sprays double the chill factor, the legs get heavy with frost, breathing gets difficult. You need dedication and courage even more than physical endurance.
By the third day, the deck had fully frozen and it was windy. The Chief Officer and fitters were checking round the clock on all the critical matters. The second and third officers offered to share with him in the navigational watch keeping time, allowing the Chief Officer more time to deal with the ice. Capt Rao altered the course to avoid an approaching storm. He was preparing all the messages to the charterers, explaining the anticipated delay in reaching New York.
Thanks to the warmth generated by the 10000 HP main engine, the engineers were much better off than their counterparts on the deck. However,
The Chief Engineer and Chief Officer smiling away the cold.
A ‘chilling’ scene on board ‘Sanmar Sonata’.
freezing fuel and cold water were a constant source of worry. Heavy rolling hampered all the major maintenance plans in the engine room. Chief Engineer Sathyamoorthy planned to start the deck hydraulic system one day in advance to ensure circulation of the hydraulic oil forward and also to protect the hydraulic motors in the anchor and mooring rope winches. He had kept all the systems
either in operation or completely drained to prevent ice formation. Stagnant water in a pipeline could be disastrous as ice expands and breaks critical pipes.
When the ship reached the port at New York, the crew faced the daunting task of clearing the ice on the deck. Hosing down the ice water from the fire pump failed because the water froze as it passed through the exposed deck. The high-pressure washing machine, which developed 200 bars of water pressure worked finally, but the process was very slow. It took 18 hours to clear the deck and six more to reach the berth.
Sanmar Sonata, having cleared her decks of ice, ready for port.
At the end of it all, the dedicated ship staff made sure the ship came through safe and sound, fulfilling all her contractual commitments. An inspector representing Shell, recorded the crew’s excellent handling of the ship in cold conditions in his report to his principals. Sanmar Shipping earned appreciation from customers and partners alike.
By B Jayakumar, General Manager (Tech.), Sanmar Shipping Limited.