Good illustration of the terminal blocks used.
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Thanks for posting that KP 
Now at least I understand what they mean.
So this connection was sitting there like a ticking time bomb since the vessel was built just waiting to go off.
I wonder how many other connections like this have failed over the years
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I endorse 244’s comments. Maybe the blackout and inspection and cleaning of the switchboard has to be much more rigorous during dry dock. But wait…That would mean accommodating the crew ashore.
Source: Sea trade maritime news
quote:
The US National Transportation Safety Board’s final report into the Dali’s fatal allision with the Key Bridge in Baltimore zeroed in on wiring defects and specific loose wiring connection that led to two electrical blackouts on board the vessel minutes prior to the incident.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy likened this to “one bolt failing in the Eifel Tower”.
The allision destroyed the Key Bridge leaving six workers dead, and expected costs of up to $5.2 billion to rebuild it.
end quote
For our engineering colleagues.
Apart from internal company communication is there any way of altering the grater engineering community of a particular risk?
I mean how many times have our engineers fixed something for us and we are just greatful but that is the end of it and we buy the chief a beer.
Do we need some kind of worldwide community that shares common faults.
Or have we got a load to learn from the aviation world even though they deal with much much less types.
Not saying the aviation industry is a gold standard, it is far from it.
There is far far too much influence from a very small major players
Having been involved in building ships in Korea and dealing with warranty items after delivery, I was not a fan of those spring clip terminal blocks.
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Thanks Chief
Are there different ones available.
Remember I am just driver
- Screw terminals (like in old-fashioned household wiring)
- Spring cage/ spring clamp terminals
- Push-fit terminals
- IDC (Insulation displacement connector) terminals
Dali’s are #2
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A question remains unanswered for me and that is in regard to the auto changeover between transformer feeds. The faulty 381 control circuit tripped the HR1 under voltage breaker……it makes me wonder whether the same control circuit was connected to HR2 ie one control circuit for both transformers. That being the case, auto change over would have made no difference to the outcome.
I have a thermal camera I use for working on my own boat, so if I can come up with one, so can they!
Also haven’t we had more than one incident related to engines that stop themselves to avoid overheating or low oil pressure? Sometimes whatever you are avoiding is worth risking engine damage IMHO.
If the Dali were an airplane, soon enough an AD would be out for everyone else using the terminal blocks in question to inspect them and maybe replace them.
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In environments with significant vibration, spring clamp terminals do not, in general, seem to be a bad choice. While vibrating screws tend to unscrew over time, springs will rebound under vibrational load. And vibration Dali had truckloads, if we care to remember their homemade, desperate “vibration dampers”. The problem with the control wiring was not the choice of terminal type, but the unchecked distal placement of the labels, covering part of the ferrules, preventing proper insertion and secure long-term seating. Lack of supervision during installation, lack of diligent maintenance.
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The other pivotal issue here is the LV flushing pump supplying DO to the generators had to be locally restarted. The old domino effect and a litany of issues.
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thermal camera not going to tell you anything about a signal wire
True, it would not heat up.
just need to update the rules, like DP2-3 tests a single wire failure but what happens if 2 fail?
They could dp2 ish supply to the ME via split bus use at ports so LO and WP etc all still running with a single power fault.
Steering pumps spit etc
not rocket science and all the gear is already on board, just needs some wiring
Chief Engineer point of view and comment.
