Star azipod propulsion problem

[Nix111]

Watching this post with interest, we are due to board on 22 December fingers crossed, hoping our cruise won't be affected but I'd be happy with a full refund and a missed port or two I guess!

 

Keep us updated please

 

Nicky

[GUEST080219]

Some people demand so much.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

I can't blame them. Not everyone is retired/has unlimited vacation or can work freelance jobs while traveling so being stuck on the ship with a stripped down itinerary is no fun. And tbh both of them wouldn't cost NCL a lot of money.

[karoo]

I can't blame them. Not everyone is retired/has unlimited vacation or can work freelance jobs while traveling so being stuck on the ship with a stripped down itinerary is no fun. And tbh both of them wouldn't cost NCL a lot of money.

 

 

They could have chosen the UBP when booking if it was so important. They are still getting a cruise, plus full refund and money towards another cruise. Maybe they can use their refund money if it's so important.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cmander]

Our thoughts are with all those on this cruise! We will be on the January 5th cruise so watching intently! Keep us updated!

 

 

So are we .... got my fingers crossed :eek:

[geezer466]

Ship still in Singers.... As at 09.30 GMT Tuesday 13th

 

http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/shipid:374130/zoom:14

 

Only mildly concerned at the moment as we do not embark till February in Auckland....

 

Plenty of time for Norwegian to send another ship down (assuming they keep a spare)... :)

 

Singers is the favorite slang name for Singapore for us Brits, once a colony now a valued member of the Commonwealth. Lived there as a kid on the UK Naval base, know there is a dry dock there the Royal Navy built specifically for the dreadnought Battleships. King George VI dock. Was the largest in the World at one time...

 

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/16e4cb2c-7e75-4d33-b1cf-b11cf2da4104

[MargateKev]

Please ignore this post!

Edited December 13, 2016 by MargateKev

[chengkp75]

Star can do 18 knots on one azipod, and at that speed the first port in Vietnam is only 2.5 days away, but they've scheduled nearly 4, so there is slack in the schedule.

 

Again, its not sounding like there is a problem that would require a drydock, though Singapore does have a couple, but "emergency" dockings are hard to get. Most of the "wizardry" that runs an azipod is not in the pod, it is up in the hull above the pod, and this is the variable frequency drive, or the azimuthing systems. The pod itself is merely a desk fan (motor and propeller blade) hung upside down under the ship. All of this can be worked on not only without drydocking, but underway as well. A pod failure is typically one or the other, good or bad. There's generally no need for the experts from the manufacturer if the motor or bearings have failed. The tech rep is more familiar with a wider range of failures and problems in their equipment than the ship's crew has experienced, and can follow the nuances of the control circuitry and programming better.

[karoo]

Star can do 18 knots on one azipod, and at that speed the first port in Vietnam is only 2.5 days away, but they've scheduled nearly 4, so there is slack in the schedule.

 

 

 

Again, its not sounding like there is a problem that would require a drydock, though Singapore does have a couple, but "emergency" dockings are hard to get. Most of the "wizardry" that runs an azipod is not in the pod, it is up in the hull above the pod, and this is the variable frequency drive, or the azimuthing systems. The pod itself is merely a desk fan (motor and propeller blade) hung upside down under the ship. All of this can be worked on not only without drydocking, but underway as well. A pod failure is typically one or the other, good or bad. There's generally no need for the experts from the manufacturer if the motor or bearings have failed. The tech rep is more familiar with a wider range of failures and problems in their equipment than the ship's crew has experienced, and can follow the nuances of the control circuitry and programming better.

 

 

Great information. What is available in Hong Kong? Just wondering how this problem will impact the next cruise which leaves from Hong Kong.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[thepinky]

We are booked in for the next leg, embark on the 22nd and leave HK on the 23rd so that a hole extra day for them to work on it and mite even fix it up.

 

Sent from my SM-G900I using Forums mobile app

[chengkp75]

Great information. What is available in Hong Kong? Just wondering how this problem will impact the next cruise which leaves from Hong Kong.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

There are shipyard facilities in HK, not sure how big, and availability is the big question. Not sure what the itinerary of the next cruise is, if it was set for 15-18 knots between ports, it shouldn't have any impact. You may see more tugs when docking/undocking, depending on local regulations, since one of the two mandatory steering systems (the pod) is out of action. In the US, the USCG requires a ship in this condition to have a tug escort from the sea buoy to the dock.

[teamflames]

There are shipyard facilities in HK, not sure how big, and availability is the big question. Not sure what the itinerary of the next cruise is, if it was set for 15-18 knots between ports, it shouldn't have any impact. You may see more tugs when docking/undocking, depending on local regulations, since one of the two mandatory steering systems (the pod) is out of action. In the US, the USCG requires a ship in this condition to have a tug escort from the sea buoy to the dock.

 

 

The itinerary is simply the reverse of this one back to Singapore.

Could it be they cancel the next 2 cruises (hope not as we are on the one 5th jan) and then just continue with their existing schedule out of Hong Kong on the 16th of Jan?

 

 

Sent from my iPod touch using Forums

[karoo]

It will all depend on whether it needs to go to dry dock and when they can get a booking. The next cruise is 14 days so they could work on it in HK before returning to Singapore. Not sure how long it all takes. Each Azipod is linked to a different generator/engine incase one breaks down. I'm not mechanically minded I just remember the engineer telling the passengers that at one of the Q&A sessions. So the ship can still sail, although my guess is they will try and fix it at some stage so as not to compromise too many itineraries.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[chengkp75]

It will all depend on whether it needs to go to dry dock and when they can get a booking. The next cruise is 14 days so they could work on it in HK before returning to Singapore. Not sure how long it all takes. Each Azipod is linked to a different generator/engine incase one breaks down. I'm not mechanically minded I just remember the engineer telling the passengers that at one of the Q&A sessions. So the ship can still sail, although my guess is they will try and fix it at some stage so as not to compromise too many itineraries.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Actually, that is not correct. The advantage of diesel electric propulsion is that none of the electrical loads (propulsion, engineering, A/C, hotel) are tied to specific generators. All of the Star's 4 diesel generators provide power to a common bus (power grid), and all of the power users take power from this common bus. This allows flexibility in case of failure, and also flexibility in fuel efficiency, in that the number of generators can be tailored to the actual load.

 

What I believe the engineer was trying to explain is that this common power bus can be split in two, with two generators feeding each half, but not the other half. But all power users can be fed from both halves of the switchboard, so that if there was a failure of one switchboard, you would only have half the generator capacity, but all functions (i.e. both pods) would be able to draw power.

[biker@sea]

Ship still in Singers.... As at 09.30 GMT Tuesday 13th

 

http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/shipid:374130/zoom:14

 

Only mildly concerned at the moment as we do not embark till February in Auckland....

 

Plenty of time for Norwegian to send another ship down (assuming they keep a spare)... :)

 

Singers is the favorite slang name for Singapore for us Brits, once a colony now a valued member of the Commonwealth. Lived there as a kid on the UK Naval base, know there is a dry dock there the Royal Navy built specifically for the dreadnought Battleships. King George VI dock. Was the largest in the World at one time...

 

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/16e4cb2c-7e75-4d33-b1cf-b11cf2da4104

 

Sorry. No Spare ship's in the NCL barn.

 

 

.

[karoo]

Actually, that is not correct. The advantage of diesel electric propulsion is that none of the electrical loads (propulsion, engineering, A/C, hotel) are tied to specific generators. All of the Star's 4 diesel generators provide power to a common bus (power grid), and all of the power users take power from this common bus. This allows flexibility in case of failure, and also flexibility in fuel efficiency, in that the number of generators can be tailored to the actual load.

 

 

 

What I believe the engineer was trying to explain is that this common power bus can be split in two, with two generators feeding each half, but not the other half. But all power users can be fed from both halves of the switchboard, so that if there was a failure of one switchboard, you would only have half the generator capacity, but all functions (i.e. both pods) would be able to draw power.

 

 

Thanks for that clarification! As I said I'm not mechanically minded at all, so I must have interpreted the information incorrectly.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[teamflames]

Actually, that is not correct. The advantage of diesel electric propulsion is that none of the electrical loads (propulsion, engineering, A/C, hotel) are tied to specific generators. All of the Star's 4 diesel generators provide power to a common bus (power grid), and all of the power users take power from this common bus. This allows flexibility in case of failure, and also flexibility in fuel efficiency, in that the number of generators can be tailored to the actual load.

 

 

 

What I believe the engineer was trying to explain is that this common power bus can be split in two, with two generators feeding each half, but not the other half. But all power users can be fed from both halves of the switchboard, so that if there was a failure of one switchboard, you would only have half the generator capacity, but all functions (i.e. both pods) would be able to draw power.

 

 

How many azipods does the ship have? I am assuming 2 by you mentioning they can run on one. If they do run on one and they encounter another problem in the functioning azipod how does this leave the ship?

 

 

Sent from my iPod touch using Forums

[Hoya NICU RN]

Thinking of you all, and hoping things resolve soon. I appreciate the information. We're scheduled to board in Hong Kong on Jan 16, debarking Feb 18 in Auckland, so I'll be following closely.

 

Sent from my XT1254 using Forums mobile app

[Cruise Critic Chris]

Hiya, from CC HQ. Does anyone onboard have the letter explaining the new itinerary? Thanks!

[triptolemus]

How many azipods does the ship have? I am assuming 2 by you mentioning they can run on one. If they do run on one and they encounter another problem in the functioning azipod how does this leave the ship?

 

 

There are 2 azipods.

 

If both azipods are not functioning, you can imagine that leaves the ship in a very bad way.

 

Remember the old survivalists' saying... 2 is 1 and 1 is none...

[hawkeyetlse]

Hiya, from CC HQ. Does anyone onboard have the letter explaining the new itinerary? Thanks!

BirdTravels posted it here.

[teamflames]

There are 2 azipods.

 

 

 

If both azipods are not functioning, you can imagine that leaves the ship in a very bad way.

 

 

 

Remember the old survivalists' saying... 2 is 1 and 1 is none...

 

 

My sentiments exactly... so why all the talk of sailing to hk on one?

 

 

Sent from my iPod touch using Forums

[chengkp75]

How many azipods does the ship have? I am assuming 2 by you mentioning they can run on one. If they do run on one and they encounter another problem in the functioning azipod how does this leave the ship?

 

 

Sent from my iPod touch using Forums

 

There are redundancies within each azipod as well. Typically, a failure somewhere along the line leaves the pod with only half power, so in most cases, electrically, you have 4 "virtual" pods which can be used as; two full power, one full, one half power, one full power, or one half power. There are of course, choke points where redundancy is not present, and this case appears to be one where they've lost the entire pod. Mechanical problems are a different story, but I'm leaning away from mechanical right now.

[chengkp75]

My sentiments exactly... so why all the talk of sailing to hk on one?

 

 

Sent from my iPod touch using Forums

 

95% of the world's ocean shipping only have one propeller, and 90% of those only have one engine attached directly to that one propeller. So, on these ships, one even minor failure can leave you with no propulsion. Operating on one propulsion system is considered safe and seaworthy (even a ship without propulsion or any power can survive the worst of storms, see the SS Badger State). Since the ship has two propulsion systems, the class society (the ship's insurance underwriter) will require repairs as soon as possible, but no flag state, port state, or class society will prevent a ship with one functioning propulsion system from sailing.

[teamflames]

95% of the world's ocean shipping only have one propeller, and 90% of those only have one engine attached directly to that one propeller. So, on these ships, one even minor failure can leave you with no propulsion. Operating on one propulsion system is considered safe and seaworthy (even a ship without propulsion or any power can survive the worst of storms, see the SS Badger State). Since the ship has two propulsion systems, the class society (the ship's insurance underwriter) will require repairs as soon as possible, but no flag state, port state, or class society will prevent a ship with one functioning propulsion system from sailing.

 

 

Thanks again for detailed explanation!

 

 

Sent from my iPod touch using Forums

[don't-use-real-name]

What do Azipods look like ?

 

Photo - Dry Dock showing Azipods:

 

CC Thread LINK:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2270196

 

End of page -1- of 9