Aberdeen – Examiner – M.A.

Quasem
Date 21/12/16 Time: 1515 Length of oral: 1 hour 30 minutes
He talked for a while about my experience, why I decided to pursue a career at sea before the
interview started.
1. Asked the difficulties of crosshead bearing lubrication and how it is overcome. I told him that on
Sulzer engines it was achieved by using booster pumps to get the oil to a higher pressure and also
using grooves which aid retention of the oil.
2. He then asked about piston rings and the required clearances. Axial, butt and back clearance were
the ones he was looking for and how they were measured. He also seemed happy with this.
3. He asked me about infinite / finite bottom end bearings and where I would find each. I said that I
wasn’t familiar with the terminology but if I was to guess I would say that infinite bottom end
bearings were found on crosshead engines because they should last the lifetime of the engine and
finite on trunk type engines as they will need to be changed during the lifetime of the engine. He
didn’t seem happy with this answer but did say I was right with my choice.
4. I was then asked the purpose of the thrust block and how it operates. I wasn’t very clear with my
answer we moved to the next question.
5. He then asked me to draw the start air system including safety interlocks. I drew the drawing and
he then stopped me and asked me to explain it. He kept interrupting me during my description
before then saying that my drawing was not of an engineering standard.
6. After this he asked how a start air explosion could occur. I gave the general description of oil carry
over from compressors etc. leading to the conditions required and then said that it could be caused
due to leaking fuel igniting when the engine is starting and the combustion gases could cause a start
air explosion. He completely dismissed this as a possibility and said it is very unlikely. I then also said
that leaking exhaust valve was the more likely cause. But he said he wanted to move onto the next
question.
7. He then asked how oil was prevented from getting into the line I said regular draining of the lines
and observation of any oil loss from the compressors. I forgot to mention the oil separator but I got
it when he prompted me there was something I was forgetting.
After these questions had passed he noted that an hour had passed and that we were taking too
long to get through the questions I get the impression that he had maybe already decided it was a
fail at this point.
1. He asked about fire bulkheads and the different types? I said A and B. I Said A prevented passage
of smoke and fire after 60 minutes of a standard fire test. And type B prevented passage of smoke
and fire after 30 minutes. He told me I was wrong and what I was talking about was A-60 and B-30 I
told him I was under the impression that the numbers after the letters were to do with the
prevention of heat to the other side during that time period.
2. I was then asked about how to connect shore power and what would I check. I gave an
explanation that I would check the cables and the run of the cables for any potential hazards before
checking the frequency and voltage of the supply before making any connections. I then said I would
make the connections and check the phase rotation. He allowed me to finish and asked me what the
reason would be if the pumps started running slow or the wrong way. I explained that if it was going
the wrong way the phase rotation was wrong and by swapping 2 phases it would be corrected, I said
if the pumps were running slow it was an indication the frequency was too low or the voltage. He
then said I had not connected an earth and therefore what I had done was dangerous. He didn’t
prompt me for any additional information when I said I made the connections because if he had I
would of mentioned the earth.

He then said that I had failed but did I still want to answer a few more questions. I decided I might as
well.
He asked about boiler water and how salts could get in the water I got confused on this as I thought
he was asking about the salts which could still be present in distilled water which lead to scale what
he was actually asking was chlorides from a leaking condenser which I eventually got.
He then asked what the meaning of ISM was? I said International Safety Management. I said there
were 12 chapters he said they weren’t chapters and that they were sections and there were 13 or 14
now.
He then asked what the 2 certificates were which related to this? I said DOC and SMC he then asked
how often they needed to be renewed. And who holds each certificate.