Irving Oil - Question about their tankers (white "box-like" unit on stern)

Professional Mariner Forum
1

Hi Guys:

I have a question for you. I suppose a deck officer or an engine guy could answer this question - maybe even an unlicensed mariner? Anyway, I had a vacation day off from work yesterday. (I currently work in a call center for a financial services company. My job is boring and mundane. I went to a maritime acad and sailed as a 3rd Mate for 2 yrs. Slowly, but steadily , I went from making good money to slipping into the monotonous grind of working in a cubicle.) There are pros and cons to my job though - like anything else - 9 to 5 work schedule, weekends off and I work with a lot of nice-looking women, too. So, sometimes I feel like a fish out of water, so to speak.

Anyway, I was up in Portland, Maine yesterday taking a walk. It was a beautiful day. I noticed one of the Irving tankers (the Noreaster) outbound (assisted by two McAllister tugs). When I was observing the tanker, I noticed that there was a big white box-like unit that was on the stern - aft of the stack. It looked like it was part of the ship’s exhaust system as I noticed exhaust coming out of it. Or, maybe it was part of the inert gas system? I don’t remember these “units” always being on these ships.

Just thought it was interesting. Seemed to detract from the look of the ship though. Kinda like after market rims on a nice-looking BMW.

Anybody know what this “unit” is on the stern?

P.S. I observed the Noreaster outbound. I think the New England has the same type of unit on their ship as well.

2

Looks like a retrofitted SOx scrubber:

1 Like
3

Cool bro. Thanks for the link to the article. I feel like a dumbass now. Probably should have tried “Googling” it prior to posting my question, but whatever. Initially, wasn’t quite sure about how to go about hunting down the info. The first thing that came to my mind while reading the article was the “BAAQMD” in San Francisco. It stands for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. From what I remember, (while I worked on tankers on the West Coast) the BAAQMD was in place to try to curtail the impact of emissions from ships out there. I remember the captain and second mate told me to read the BAAQMD manual. Of course I obliged, but I then I opened it up and I was like, “Really guys - you want me to read this crap?”

4

The vessel the OP mentions was also in an Emission Control Area (ECAs).

For anybody interested in the technical stuff - :ship:

http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/the-world-fleet-zoning-in-on-emissions/