[Cruise Journal 21 December]
Today at 1530, a tour of the engine room. But first things first: after gradually becoming accustomed to swells in the area of 5-8 feet, this morning we were greeted with what the forecast we received estimated to be swells of 6-10 with maximum combined seas of around 15 feet. Difficulty level has increased from novice to moderate. The Sentry team, who need to account for the orientation of the ship to correctly communicate with the vehicle, reported that today the Sikuliaq has been undergoing rolls of up to 20 degrees, spiking in one chair-slinging episode at 24. Third Mate Hamill has seen plenty of rolling in his time, and has his own opinions about how far we are going to see the Sikuliaq go on that score. But first, let’s check out the engine room.
Thanks to Chief Engineer Terry Anderson, First Engineer Rich Null, and QMED Anton Costales for letting us into their work space and giving us an overview of Engineering
Multiple members of the engineering department separately likened their responsibilities to those of the municipal services in a self-contained city. Any amenities we enjoy, like running hot water, cold fresh water and plumbing, air conditioning, and lights — not to mention the power to actually move the ship — ultimately come from Engineering. Chief Engineer Terry leads the three assistant engineers and three QMED’s (Qualified Members of the Engineering Department, or engineers training for their certifications) in the operation of the ship’s systems which power and cool the engines, analyze and desalinate seawater, adaptively coordinate the efforts of all the drive systems, and much more.
This ship has four generators which can scale their collective output up or down as power demands vary. The main transiting thrust is provided by a pair of electric motors at the stern, which use a contemporary design, only recently gaining prevalence among research and cruise ships, whereby the water is “pulled” in from the front of the propeller, instead of “pushed away from the back as in conventional props. Finer directional control is provided by a single “z-drive” (so called because of the gearing containing two right angles in sequence, reminiscent of the shape of a Z) in the bow. The entire drive system can be computer controlled to keep the ship steady at a given point or follow a course plotted by GPS; this is called “dynamic positioning” and we’ll use it when we follow Sentry as it performs its science dives in the coming weeks.
All of this maneuvering, as well as the demands of the rest of the ship’s systems, comes at a cost. The Sikuliaq holds around 180,000 gallons of fuel, and depending on the amount and rate of travel, can burn between 5,500 and 6,600 gallons per day. According to Engineering, the ship’s infrastructure is nominally rated to support a voyage of up to fifty days; of course this is heavily dependent on the drain put on the fuel reserves by transiting. Our current condition, making around 10 knots in modest to moderate seas, is not near the boundary of the ship’s capabilities. Nevertheless, as we finished our tour of the engine room and prepared to ascend back to the main deck, a digital thermometer near one of the four generators read 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
After our first big twenty-plus degree roll, which sent chairs and their occupants skittering across the crowded mess, the Third Mate, who along with much of the crew will continue with the Sikuliaq toward its eventual home in Alaska after the science party has completed our mission and disembarked in Guam, gave his assessment.
“By the time we get to Ketchikan, I expect to see some boot prints on the bulkheads”