Failure of fuel supply direct cause of engine shutdown: - Several conditions that will require follow-up.
A fault in the fuel system, due to wear and tear, led to the engine stoppage on the MS KONG HARALD last night. This is announced by the Norwegian Maritime Directorate in a press release.
The Norwegian Maritime Directorate writes in the press release that there are “several aspects of the incident that will require further follow-up.” The Norwegian Maritime Directorate has today had two inspectors on board for investigations, in addition to professionals at the head office in Haugesund.
Through a good dialogue with the shipping company and crew, the Norwegian Maritime Directorate’s inspectors now have a clear picture of what happened when MS King Harald had an engine stop on Tuesday night, and what caused this.
- It emerged during the inspection that KONG HARALD sailed from Kristiansund with a main engine operational. The port main engine was temporarily taken out of service to carry out a repair after a leak was discovered in the wake of departure. This operation took longer than expected, the Norwegian Maritime Directorate writes in the press release, which is signed by department director Dag Inge Aarhus, who also confirms that Hurtigruten MS Kong Harald will sail on from Molde tonight.
Critical situation
As the ship approached the area where the incident occurred, they encountered a critical situation on the starboard main engine. One then received an alarm at high exhaust temperature. Measures to reduce torque did not take effect and the engine had an overspeed / shutdown at 20.39. Since the port main engine was not ready for operation / repaired, they then lost all propulsion. The specific technical reason for stopping the starboard engine has been clarified to be the control arm between the regulator and the fuel / power rack that has been found worn out.
In this situation, the crew used a submersible truster to ensure minimum propulsion, and made sure to get the ship into an area where it was shallow enough to make a controlled mooring, with good attachment.
- When the situation first arose, the crew did the right thing by securing the ship and going out with an emergency message. They used the propulsion the truster provided to ensure a controlled mooring in anticipation of assistance, as well as to get one of the main engines running again, says acting director of shipping Lars Alvestad.
The crew eventually started the main engine and the ship was able to anchor and go for its own machine to Molde, with towing equipment nearby. Before they came to Molde, they also got a start on the starboard engine.
The worn part that led to the stop has today been replaced on both engines. Both engines have also been tested, with good results. In this work, the Norwegian Maritime Directorate also has a dialogue with the class company DNV. The ship will leave Molde around 6 pm tonight.
Although the specific cause of the engine shutdown at Hustadvika has been clarified and rectified, the Norwegian Maritime Directorate will have a further dialogue with the shipping company regarding the assessments made when the ship left Kristiansund with a main engine available. Among other things, the Norwegian Maritime Directorate wants answers to the risk assessments that were taken both before departure from Kristiansund, as also seen in light of the fact that the repair of the port engine turned out to take longer than planned. We will also look at maintenance routines, and what meant that wear and tear on the relevant part was not revealed. This could also be an important learning moment for others with similar systems.
The Norwegian Maritime Directorate has also provided information on the findings to the Accident Investigation Board Norway, which makes its own assessments related to a possible investigation of the incident.
