INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR ENGINEERS

 
Duties of the engine room personnel
 
1. What are the duties of the chief engineer?
He is in command of the engine department and engineering personnel. He is responsible for all
ship’s machinery and control systems. He must ensure proper operation, maintenance and repair
of the machinery, equipment and control systems. He also is responsible for compliance with
maritime laws, rules and regulations pertaining to machinery testing and inspecting. The chief
engineer is responsible for the administration, supervision and economical operation of the engine
department. He is responsible for preparation, accuracy and timely submission of the engine
department correspondence, records and reports. The chief engineer is accounted to the
shoreside management.

2. What are the duties of the second engineer?

He is the officer next in rank to the chief engineer. He is responsible for daily activities of the
engine room personnel. He supervises maintenance and repair work, maintains preventive
maintenance records. The 2nd engineer may be assigned to the duty of supervising spare part
inventory. He keeps watch; also he has the duties that include responsibility for the main engine,
fire main system, water ballast system, bilge drainage system and refrigeration system.

3. What are the duties of the third engineer?

He is responsible for gensets, fuel fill, storage and transfer system, air compressor, air conditioner
and refrigerating plant. The 3rd engineer is in charge of bunkering operations.

4. What are the duties of the fourth engineer?

He is a watchkeeping engineer; he usually has the auxiliary boilers and waste-heat boilers in his
charge. He is also in charge of the sea-water sanitary system, galley and laundry mechanical
equipment. His watchkeeping hours are 4 to 8a.m. and 16 to 20 hours.

5. What are the duties of a motorman?

Motorman is responsible for the operation/ repair and lubrication of engines and motors, also he
ensures complete repair of all equipment at all times under guidance of engineers. He maintains
proper logs of equipment and their current status; he is charge of training new crewmembers,
keeping equipment damage and loss at minimum level, also providing assistance to other
crewmembers if necessary.

6. What are the duties of an engine cadet?

He is responsible for keeping watch as per watch schedule, assisting with maintenance of all
machinery and technical equipment as directed by an Engine Officer. Also he is in charge of
general cleaning and housekeeping throughout the machinery spaces, shipboard training as per
companies’ requirements to dedicate part of their time to study and learn the electrical and
technical equipments, machineries, plants and all related equipments. An engine cadet assists in
maintain the SMS.

7. What are the duties of an oiler?

An oiler operates and maintains the propulsion and other systems on board the vessel. Oilers also
deal with the different facilities on board, notably the sewage, lighting, air conditioning, and water
systems. They assist bulk fuel transfers and require training in firefighting and first aid. 

8. What are the duties of a wiper?

A wiper is mainly responsible for maintenance of the vessel, also cleaning of the engine room and
general maintenance of the engine department. He is in charge of assisting other personnel on the
ship in various tasks, working as a part of the watch team and working with ordinary seamen
aboard and assisting them in various tasks.

9. What are the duties of a fitter?

He lays out and fabricates metal structural parts, such as plates, bulkheads, and frames, and
braces them in position within hull of ship for riveting or welding: lays out position of parts on metal,
working from blueprints or templates and using scribe and hand tools. A fitter locates and marks
reference lines, such as center, buttock, and frame lines. He is responsible for aligning parts in
relation to each other, using jacks, turnbuckles, clips, wedges, and mauls, for marking location of
holes to be drilled and installs temporary fasteners to hold part in place for welding or riveting.
Installing packing, gaskets, liners, and structural accessories and members, such as doors,
hatches, brackets, and clips is the duty of a fitter.
 

Auxiliary machinery
10. What do you know about engine room?
Engine room is a ship’s compartment which contains the main engine and a number of auxiliary
machinery.

11. What machinery do you know?

Machinery is divided into main and auxiliary machinery. The main machinery comprises an engine,
usually a diesel engine, steam turbine, or gas turbine, with required gearing or other transmission
system and, for steam plants, steam generators. Besides the main machinery there is also a great
number of auxiliary machinery which covers everything mechanical on board a ship except the
main engines and boilers. It includes almost all pipes and fittings and different equipment.

12. What is the main propulsion machinery?

The main propulsion machinery comprises an engine, usually a diesel engine, steam turbine, or
gas turbine.

13. What is auxiliary machinery?

Auxiliary machinery covers everything mechanical aboard, e.g. pipes and fittings, pumps,
separators, diesel generators, deck machinery etc.

14. What functions does auxiliary machinery perform?

Auxiliary machinery is installed to perform a number of functions: to prevent oil and sewage
pollution, to moor the ship and handle cargo, to supply the ship with electrical power and lighting,
to keep the ship dry and trimmed, to provide propulsion and maneuvering, to supply domestic
needs such as fresh and sea water, sanitation; heating or cooling of air, ventilation, to provide
safety.

15. How is the piping system arranged on ship?

Each piping system consists of sections or lengths of piping, fittings for joining the sections and
valves for controlling the flow of fluid. Most piping systems also include other fittings and
accessories such as vents, drains, traps, strainers, relief valves, various gauges: vacuum meters,
pressure gauges, thermometers and other measuring instruments.

16. What types of valves can be found on ship?

Valves can be of different types: check valves, exhaust valves, safety shut-off valves, throttle
valves, flow control valves, control valves, safety valves, solenoid valves.

17. What is the function of ballast system?

The purpose of the ballast system is to maintain the proper trim, stability, and immersion of the
vessel.

18. How is the ship supplied with electric power and lighting?
This is done by steam or diesel- powered generator.

19. What machinery is used to moor the ship and to handle cargo?
Mooring machinery includes winches and capstans; cargo-handling machinery includes winches
and cranes.

20. What deck machinery do you know?

Deck machinery includes mooring equipment, anchor handling equipment, cargo handling
equipment and hatch covers. Other items include life-boats and life-rafts, emergency equipment,
watertight doors and bow thrusters.

21. What machinery provides for the ship safety?

Firefighting and fire detection equipment, audible alarms, lifeboat engines and launching gears
provide the ship’s safety.
22. Who is responsible for auxiliary machinery?
Responsibility for efficient operation of auxiliary machinery is often delegated to a certain marine
engineer. Engineer officers on tankers are also involved in operating the cargo pumping machinery.
Separators
 
23. What types of separators are used on board the vessel?
The purpose of separators is to clean fluids. Depending on type of fluid there are two main types of
separators used on board the vessel: fuel oil separator and oily-water separator. These separators
use different cleaning methods.

24. What is marine fuel oil separator used for?

Marine fuel oil separator or mineral oil separator is used to clean the fuel or lube oils for a ship.

25. What are the main parts of marine fuel oil separator?
The main parts of fuel oil separator are separator bowl with a number of bowl discs, clarifier disc or
gravity disc, sludge outlet nozzles, an electromotor.

26. What is the working principle of fuel oil separator?

The working principle of fuel oil separator is based on centrifugal force. An electromotor supplies
the power to the fuel oil separator. The electromotor rotates a bowl spindle by a worm wheel. The
bowl spindle rotates the separator bowl where light components such as oil and heavier
components such as water and sludge are separated by using centrifugal force of centrifuges. The
lighter component is pushed inwards while heavier components are pushed outwards through the
sludge outlet nozzles.

27. What are two operating modes of fuel oil separator?

A fuel oil separator can operate as a purifier or as a clarifier.

28. How does a purifier work?

A purifier separates three phases: solid particles (sludge) and two insoluble liquids (oil and water).
There is an oil-water interface at the bowl discs. For correct oil-water interface position the gravity
disc is used. A purifier needs to be filled completely with sealing water to prevent the oil to leave
from the water outlet. A purifier is mainly used when sludge has to be separated from oil together
with small quantities of water from sludge.

29. How does a clarifier work?

A clarifier separates two phases: solid particles (sludge) from a liquid (oil). In the clarifier mode the
clarifier disc is fitted instead of gravity disc. There is no sealing water and no oil-water interface.
The water outlet is simply blocked by level ring. In case there is some water it will be removed
together with the sludge. This method is mostly used for residual fuel or after the purifier in the fuel
line.

30. What is marine oily water separator used for?

Oily water separator is used to clean bilge water on board the vessel. It separates oil from bilge
water before it is pumped overboard.

31. What does the oily water separator consist of?

The oily water separator consists of catch plates inside a separating vessel and an oil collecting
chamber.

32. How does oily water separator work?

The oily water separator works on the principle of coalescing small oil droplets in the water to form
larger oil drops. When the oil drops become large enough, the oil drops float up and collect at the
top of the vessel. The water remains at the lower portion and is pumped overboard. The oil layer is
pumped into an oily bilge tank which can be pumped out at an oil collecting facility when the ship
arrives at a port.
 

Air Compressor
 
33. What is an air compressor?
An air compressor is a device that converts power (usually from an electric motor or a diesel
engine) into kinetic energy by compressing and pressurizing air.
34. What is an air compressor used for on board?
On a ship an air compressor is used to compress air and store it in tanks for various uses from
simple processes such as cleaning and drying of filters to tasks such as starting the auxiliary and
main engines of the ship.

35. What types of air compressors do you know?

Compressors are classified in many ways. By classification based on the principle of operation
there are such types of air compressor as: 1) positive displacement and 2) dynamic compressors.
Positive displacement compressors can be further divided into reciprocating (piston or diaphragm)
and rotary (screw, vane, lobe or scroll) compressors. Under the dynamic compressors, we have 1)
centrifugal compressors and 2) axial flow compressors.

36. What air compressors are used on board?

On the basis of application, different air compressors are kept for a particular usage. Normally, air
compressors on board ships are: main air compressor, topping up compressor, deck air
compressor, emergency air compressor.

37. What are their purposes?

Main air compressor is used for supplying high pressurised air for starting of main and auxiliary
engines.
Topping up compressor takes up the lead to cover up for the leakage in the system.
Deck air compressor is used for deck use and as service air compressor and might have a
separate service air bottle for the same.
Emergency air compressor is used for starting auxiliary engine at the time of an emergency or
when the main air compressor has failed for filling up the main air receiver.
Pumps
 
38. What is a pump?
A pump is a machine used to raise liquids from a low point to a high point.

39. What characteristics does each pump have?

Every pump has a power end, which may be a steam turbine, a reciprocating engine or an electric
motor, and liquid end where the liquids enters and leaves the pump. The suction head means the
pressure of the liquid entering the pump, or the difference in the level of liquid with respect to the
level of the pump on the suction side. The discharge head means the pressure of the liquid leaving
the pump, or the level of liquid with the respect to the level of the pump on the discharge side.

40. What are the main classes of pumps in marine use?

There are three main classes of pumps in marine use: displacement, axial flow and centrifugal.
Displacement pumps can be either reciprocating or rotary.

41. What is a function of centrifugal pumps?  

Centrifugal pumps are widely used on board ship for pumping non-viscous liquids such as sea
water and fresh water.

42. What is a working principle of centrifugal pump?  

The centrifugal pump utilizes the throwing force of a rapidly revolving impeller. The liquid is drawn
in at the center of the impeller and is discharged at the outer rim of the impeller.
43. What is a function and working principle of reciprocating pump?
The reciprocating pump moves liquid or gas by means of a piston or plunger which goes back and
forth or up and down within a cylinder containing a suction valve and discharge valve.

44. What is a function of rotary pumps?

Rotary pumps are particularly used for pumping oil and other heavy viscous liquids.

45. What is a working principle of rotary pumps?

All rotary pumps work by means of rotating parts, which trap the liquid at the suction side and force
it through the discharge outlet.

46. What types of rotary pumps do you know?

Classification of rotary pumps is generally made according to the type of rotating elements: screw,
gear, vane, lobe and axial plunger rotary pumps.  
 

Steering Gear
47. How to change the ship’s direction?
The direction is changed by steering gear. It is the equipment provided on ships to turn the ship to
left (Port side) or to right (Starboard side) while in motion.

48. Where is steering gear situated?

The whole steering gear arrangement should be kept in a separate compartment, known as the
steering gear compartment/room.

49. What are the main components of steering gear?

Complete Steering Gear system consists of three main parts namely: Telemotor, Control Unit and
Power Unit.
Turbocharger

50. What is a turbocharger?

A turbocharger or turbo is a device used to allow more power to be produced for an engine.

51. What for is the turbocharger installed?

The turbocharger converts waste energy from exhaust gases into compressed air, which it pushes
into the engine. This allows to improve efficiency of the combustion process, increasing power of
the engine.

52. Can you name the main components of turbocharger?

A turbocharger consists of a turbine and compressor connected by a common shaft supported on a
bearing system.
53. Does the use of turbochargers have any advantages?
Engine with turbocharger provides better combustion process, which results not only on increase
of power, but also on decrease of fuel usage and toxic gases. It also produces less noise while
operation.
Boilers

54. Describe simplified boiler arrangement.

The process of steam generation starts when water enters the steam drum. The water enters drum
through the tubes surrounded the furnace. The feed water gets heated when passes through the
tubes. The steam produced in the steam drum is known as saturated or wet steam. To make this
steam usable, it is first dried and heated with the help of the superheater located within the boiler.
Once all the moisture content is removed from the steam, the superheated steam can be supplied
to other systems.  

55. What are the types of boilers?

Watertube boiler, firetube boiler, waste-heat boiler, natural water circulation type boiler, forced
water circulation type boiler, combine boiler plant, auxiliary boiler.

56. What is the difference between watertube and firetube boilers?

In firetube boiler water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. In watertube boiler the
gases of combustion pass through the tubes that are surrounded by water.

57. What is the function of furnace?

A furnace provides a constant burning.

58. What may be done to increase efficiency of the boiler system?

 To provide the efficient combustion, a certain set of conditions is necessary: maintenance of high
furnace temperature, ensuring of continuous oil-fuel and air supply, removal products of
combustion.
59. What types of propulsion plants can you name?
There are gas and steam turbine engines, diesel engines, nuclear power plants.

60. What propulsion devices on ship can you name?

Mechanical propulsion systems generally consist from a motor or engine turning a propeller or less
frequently, in jet drives, an impeller.
Diesel engines

61. What types of diesel engines do you know?

Types of diesel engines are known by the parameters: -speed – high-speed, medium-speed, slow-
speed engines, operation – 2-stroke, 4-stroke, single-acting, double-acting engines, cylinder
arrangement – horizontal, vertical, V-engine, radial design, design 0f crank-mechanism – trunk-
piston engine, crosshead, opposed-piston type.

62. What is a double-acting engine?

An engine with two pistons moving in the same cylinder in opposite direction.

63. Do you know the classification of diesel engines by their operation?

According to the operational principle diesel engines may be 2-stroke and 4-stroke diesel engines.

64. Are the ships usually propelled at the same speed?

Diesel engines are known as high-speed, medium-speed, slow-speed engines.

65. What fixed parts of diesel engine do you know?

Fixed parts of diesel engine are framework, bedplate, crankcase, working cylinders, cylinder liner,
cylinder head.

66. What are the moving parts of diesel engine?

Moving parts of diesel engine are piston, connecting rod, crankshaft, valve mechanism.

67. What is the function of cylinder liner?

The cylinder liner determines the displacement of the cylinder in which the piston is housed.

68. Are all diesel engines connected to the propeller through the reduction gear?
High-speed and medium-speed diesel engines drive the propeller through the reduction gear box.
Slow-speed engines are directly coupled to the propeller.

69. What does the standard engine room consist of?

  An engine room consists of at least: main engine(s), auxiliary engines (power generator), cooling
water system, lubricating oil system, fuel system, compressed air system, drinking water system,
sewage system, bilge system, ballast system, boiler, refrigerating system, firefighting system,
storage tanks for lubricating oil, spare parts room, control room and workshop.

Diesel engine systems

70. What diesel engine systems do you know?
There are compressed air start, cooling, fuel and lube oil systems.

71. Whom will you report any hazardous event in diesel engine systems?
Any hazardous event in diesel engine systems must be reported to the Watch Engineer or to the
Chief Engineer.

72. For what is compressed air used in diesel engine starting system?
Compressed air is directed to the cylinders; this creates thrust enough to turn the crankshaft; after
then fuel injection pump is started and starting air system works together with fuel transfer system;
finally starting air system is cut off and the main engine runs itself.

73. What are the advantages/disadvantages of heavy fuel oil use on a ship?
Heavy fuel oil is cheaper than diesel oil but it requires more service to heat it to a certain
temperature on different stages from bunkering to injection into the diesel engine cylinders.

74. What are the fuel oil system fittings, accessories and devices? How must they be
maintained?
Any fuel oil system for the main diesel engine comprises such devices as: fuel injection pumps,
bunker oil tanks, day (service) tanks, clean-oil tanks, and sludge tanks, fuel lines with fittings, fuel
transfer pumps, fuel booster pumps, separators, and fuel oil heaters. Fuel system fittings are: fuel
fine and coarse filters, fuel pressure-maintenance valve, fuel shut-off valve, fuel non-return valve.
Accessories of fuel system are fuel flow meter, viscosity meter, pressure gauges etc.

75. What for is fuel tank sounding produced? What is used for this?
Fuel tank sounding is usually produced to avoid overflow or low level of fuel in tank. Dip stick is
usually used for this.

76. What necessary safety bunkering measures do you know?

For safety bunkering such main measures are necessary: to have all scuppers closed, to have
sawdust and extinguishers by hand, to check bunker hoses and flange couplings for damage, to
have plugs and drip trays etc.

77. What for is lube oil used in diesel engine operation?

Lube oil is used to lubricate all moving parts and prolong their service life.

78. Where will you store oily rugs?

I will store oily rugs in a special metal box.

79. Is it permitted to smoke when you work with fuel or lube oil system?
No, it is strictly forbidden. Smoking is allowed on a ship only in special places.

Diesel Engine Troubleshooting

80. In case of what diesel engine troubles may alarm sound?
Diesel engine alarm may sound in case of overheating (cooling system fails, blocked water filters),
impeller damage and others.

81. What for is good combustion necessary in diesel engine operation?

It is necessary to get good power output.

82. What clothes must be worn during diesel engine maintenance?

I must wear overall, safety shoes, safety gloves, plugs or muffs and safety goggles.
83. What strange phenomena in diesel engine operation may indicate possible
troubles?
Such strange phenomena in diesel engine operation may indicate possible troubles as: knocking,
black smoke, rattling, heavy noise, and surge.

84. Who supervises diesel engine preparedness for starting?

The Chief Engineer or some deputy Engineer supervises diesel engine preparedness for starting.

85. Why do we need to clean the fuel before using it for diesel engine?
To avoid fuel injectors needles sticking and fuel filters clogging.

86. What are the reasons of cracked diesel engine parts?

The reason of cracked diesel engine parts is usually wear.

87. What may smoky engine indicate?

It may indicate water in fuel or combustion chamber or engine overloading.