02-16-2013, 01:24 PM
The last ship I served in, was steam turbine driven. Her boilers were fired with "Navy Distillate", virtually JP-5 jet fuel !!
At about 02:30 hours on a Sunday morning, the general alarm sounded, and we all went to General Quarters.
A fuel line, in the forward fireroom had cracked, and was spraying "atomized" jet fuel into a space containing two 1200 lb/sq in steam boilers fully fired and making steam.
There would have never been an S.O.S.,and , because we were "independent steaming" at the time, no one would have known that we had "gone missing" until we failed to show up later that day.
The young sailors on watch, in that fireroom, reacted exactly the way they were trained to react, and shut down the fuel supply, and ventilated the fireroom, preventing the explosion that would have sent us, and the two remaining halves of the ship, straight to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.
Maybe "Cruise lines", and the crews of "Cruise Ships", should be trained, and regularly practice emergency procedures to prevent what happened aboard Triumph, Yes !!!!! IT IS PREVENTABLE !! I am here today writing this, because it is preventable.
The big problem here, however, is that "prevention", is perceived by "Corporate" as "hurting Profit".
At about 02:30 hours on a Sunday morning, the general alarm sounded, and we all went to General Quarters.
A fuel line, in the forward fireroom had cracked, and was spraying "atomized" jet fuel into a space containing two 1200 lb/sq in steam boilers fully fired and making steam.
There would have never been an S.O.S.,and , because we were "independent steaming" at the time, no one would have known that we had "gone missing" until we failed to show up later that day.
The young sailors on watch, in that fireroom, reacted exactly the way they were trained to react, and shut down the fuel supply, and ventilated the fireroom, preventing the explosion that would have sent us, and the two remaining halves of the ship, straight to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.
Maybe "Cruise lines", and the crews of "Cruise Ships", should be trained, and regularly practice emergency procedures to prevent what happened aboard Triumph, Yes !!!!! IT IS PREVENTABLE !! I am here today writing this, because it is preventable.
The big problem here, however, is that "prevention", is perceived by "Corporate" as "hurting Profit".
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!