Engine Room Layout
Ship Classification as per propulsion plant
Propulsion Plant position on a ship
Position of various machinery in the engine room of a ship
Units 4.1 to 4.4
Ship Classification as per propulsion Plant
• Ships are classified as per their mode of propulsion which
determines the future inspections that the ship has to undergo
during its operational life. There are two distinct types of ships.
• Motor Vessel – usually written as “M.V.”
• This refers to a diesel engine propulsion vessel, these are futher sub-
divided as Slow speed propulsion, Medium speed propulsion, Dual
Fuel engines, and Electric propulsion.
1a: 2-Stroke Diesel Engines – Low/Slow Speed (<300rpm)
• Propeller Shaft is connected directly to the main engine.
• Constant Pitch propeller used.
• Speed of the ship is controlled by changing the speed of the main
engine.
• Reversing is done by changing the direction of rotation of the
main engine.
1b: 4-Stroke Diesel Engine – Medium(300-900rpm)/High
speed(>900rpm)
• Propeller shaft is connected to the Main Engine through a gear-
box.
• Speed of the ship controlling the “pitch” of the controllable pitch
propeller.
• Reversing is done by also changing the pitch of the controllable
pitch propeller.
• The engine speed and rotational direction remains constant.
1c: 2-Stroke Dual Fuel Engine
• These engines are fitted on Gas Carriers which carry Liquefied
Natural Gas a cargo.
• Runs on both HFO (Heavy Fuel Oil) as well as LNG “Cargo Boil
Off” Gas – which is used as a secondary fuel for the engine in
a LNG carrier.
• Propeller is directly connected to the engine as in the normal
2-Stroke slow speed diesel engines.
2: Diesel Electric Propulsion
• In these ships an Electric Motor is used for propulsion of the ship.
• There will be a number of Diesel Engines to produce the power for
the propulsion motor, basically generators generating electrical
power.
• Propeller shaft is connected to the Electric Motor.
• Speed of the ship and reversing is controlled by controlling the
electric motor.
• Reversing is done by reversing the direction of the electric motor.
3: Steam Ship generally written as “SS”
• This can be further classified as (i) Steam Reciprocating Engines and
(ii) Steam Turbines.
• Steam Turbines are found on Nuclear Power Naval Ships (the nuclear
reactor heats the water to produce steam). The steam drives the
turbines).
• Dual Fuel Turbines: Cargo Boil off Gas is used as fuel for the boilers
that produce the steam for the turbines.
• Gas Turbines: Used as the main engine for propulsion in some naval
ships and some passenger ships.
Location of the Main Propulsion Plant on ships
• The location of the main engine in ship’s engine-room will depend
on the type of ship and the type of engines fitted.
• If the ship is fitted with a slow speed 2-Stroke Diesel Engine directly
connected to the propeller shaft then the engine will be located at
the centre of the engine room in the lowest platform.
• If the ship is fitted with a Controllable Pitch Propeller (CPP) driven by
a constant medium speed uni-directional diesel engine, then too the
engine will be located in the middle of the engine room at the lowest
platform with the propeller shaft fitted with the hydraulic CPP
activation equipment.
• If the ship is fitted with a medium speed diesel engine with a step-
down gear box driving the propeller, then the engine will be placed on
one side of the engineroom (port or starboard) with the gearbox
located centrally connected to the propeller shaft.
Engine Room Machineries and their locations
• The engine room machineries on a ship are usually spread over many
levels called decks.
• The lowest deck called the “Bottom Platform” will have the following
machineries:
• The main engine
• Pumps: Bilge/Ballast Pump; Cooling Freshwater pumps; Main cooling
seawater pumps; Diesel oil transfer pumps; Heavy oil Transfer pumps;
• Pumps continued: Sludge Pump; L.O. Transfer pump; Main engine L.
O. pumps; Bilge pump; Oilywater separator pump; Stern Tube L.O.
pump.
• Coolers: L.O. Coolers and F.W. Coolers.
• Air reservoirs
• Oily Bilge Separator
• Sewage Treatment Plant
• Fire pumps
The next level above the bottom platform – 3rd Deck
• Three generators
• Two main air compressors
• Four purifiers – two heavy fuel oil, one diesel oil, and one L.O.
• Main engine fuel oil pumps,
• Main engine fuel oil heaters,
• Jacket water pre-heater pump,
• Main Turbo-alternator
• The air reservoirs which are located at the bottom platform will
extend to this deck also.
The next level will be the 2nd Deck
• The main machinery here will be the Auxiliary Boiler
• Ancillary pumps and equipments associated with Boiler operation.
• Engine Control Room
• Engine Workshop
• Stores and spares
• The main engine which is located at the bottom platform will
extend upto this deck too.
Apart from these machineries in the engine room there are a few
essential machineries that are located outside the engine room.
• Incinerator
• Emergency Diesel Generator
• Exhaust Gas economiser
• Engine room ventilation fans
• Emergency fire pump
Functions of various equipments in the engine room
• Main Engine : Main propulsion
• Auxiliary Engine : Power generation
• Auxiliary Boiler: Steam Generation
• Main Air compressors: For producing compressed air
• Freshwater cooling pumps: To cool main engine
• Seawater cooling pumps: To cool the freshwater
• L.O. Pumps: For engine lubrication.
• Ballast Pumps: For the purpose of ballasting & deballasting.
• Bilge Pump: To evacuate bilge water collected in engine room and
cargo holds
• Fire pumps: To provide water for fire fighting
• Transfer pumps: To transfer oil from storage tanks to service tanks
• Oily water separator: A MARPOL equipment to separate water from
oil in the bilge water
• Sewage treatment plant: A MARPOL equipment to treat sewage before
discharging overboard.
• Incinerator: A MARPOL equipment for burning garbage and sludge.
• Purifiers: A machine that uses centrifugal force to purify fuel oil and
lubrication oil
• Coolers: Used for cooling fluids when they get overheated
• Heaters: Used for heating fuel oil, L.O., and jacket water using steam as
the heating medium.
• Exhaust gas economizer: Used for producing steam using the waste heat
from the engine exhaust gases.
