Delta or Wye 3 phase at sea?

What sort of 3 phase systems do most ships use? Is it usually a delta or wye style set-up?

Are “High-Leg” or “Hot-leg” systems common in the maritime industry?

All of my seatime was in the Navy where I was an Engineman and forbidden from working on anything electrical on the ship. You can literally go to captains mast for even doing something as simple as using a meter to read voltage if your not an Electricians mate. Its freaking stupid when I had to diagnose a refrigeration issue without being allowed to touch a meter. I use to have to keep a sparky with me and tell him, “ok check that switch… Whats my amp draw on that motor… etc.”.

Anyway, since I’ve been out I have learned the juice side pretty well in the refrigeration and power plant industries and just got approval to test for my electrician endorsement. I understand the civilian world is a little more realistic with letting engineers work on electrical equipment and I just got my first job so I want to have an idea what to expect. Also does anything special have to be done about grounding? Still wondering how thats gonna work on a ship.

Other than HV electric drives, what you’ll usually encounter is 480 or 600 volt delta on the gen sets. The lighting branch will usually come off delta/wye transformer for 208/120, Smaller vessels may just use a generator wye configuration for ease of disribution.

It is IMPERATIVE that the neutral in the wye be above the hull to minimize electrolysis. The only connection between the neutral and hull should be the ground indicator.

It is IMPERATIVE that the neutral in the wye be above the hull to minimize electrolysis. The only connection between the neutral and hull should be the ground indicator.