Luxury cruise ship lost engines on Sat due low level of lubricating oil

[Throckmorton]

I'd love to see a tear down and pics of the engines in this cruise ship:

https://www.reuters.com/article/nor...-of-lubricating-oil-norway-idUSO9N20V01A

Quote
OSLO, March 27 (Reuters) - The engines of a luxury cruise ship that narrowly escaped disaster during a storm off Norway on Saturday failed because of relatively low levels of lubricating oil in the engines, the Norwegian Maritime Authority said on Wednesday.

"Our conclusion is that the engine failure was directly caused by low oil pressure," the Norwegian Maritime Authority said in a statement.

"The level of lubricating oil in the tanks was within set limits, however relatively low, when the vessel started to cross Hustadvika," it added, referring to the stretch of water where the incident happened.

The Viking Sky, with almost 1,400 passengers and crew aboard, sent out a mayday signal on Saturday as it drifted in rough waters in the Norwegian Sea to within 100 metres of land. All four engines had failed, but crew managed to restart one of the engines just in time. (Reporting by Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Toby Chopra)

 

[Chris142]

Who's in charge of checking the oil?

 

[Ursatdx]

Probably a quick lubes fault.

 

[NormanBuntz]

Round up the usual suspect: Jiffy Lube.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

A long OCI gone bad!

 

[oil_film_movies]

Ha! It was at JiffyLube just prior.....

What I can't understand is how ALL 4 engines could fail.
Surely the sump isn't shared between all.

 

[Throckmorton]

I wonder if these engines lack dry sump lubrication. Maybe oil starvation set in when the ship was listing sideways?

 

[andyd]

Low oil level has a direct effect on PSI . Shoulda seen it on a gauge with all sorts of bells and sirens going off Ship never should have sailed due to weather. Good luck and lots of help averted a disaster.

 

[ctechbob]

One would think they are dry sump, so (I'm just guessing here) that all the sloshing around tripped a sensor in the storage tanks or the feed went dry for a moment and it shut the engines down to prevent damage. Those ships aren't exactly built to be tossed around like a jet-ski. Just me postulating on this one, but seems reasonable.

 

[PimTac]

Sounds like there is more to the story that is not being told. What was the EOW doing? Having all four engines failing due to lack of oil is very odd. I don't know if they had a shared sump but some kind of catastrophic failure had to have happened. Even so, it doesn't seem safe that such a system exists.

 

[john_pifer]

Originally Posted by ctechbob
One would think they are dry sump, so (I'm just guessing here) that all the sloshing around tripped a sensor in the storage tanks or the feed went dry for a moment and it shut the engines down to prevent damage. Those ships aren't exactly built to be tossed around like a jet-ski. Just me postulating on this one, but seems reasonable.


What I read on a Facebook post earlier indicated that your hypothesis is pretty close to what happened. From what I read, oil levels were within limits, but toward the low end of the range, so, in the rough seas, the system's ability to maintain flow and pressure was in jeopardy, so an automatic system shut engines down.

 

[ctechbob]

Looks like it. Seems like they might want to install some baffling in the tanks and use a higher level if they want to keep sailing through the rough stuff.

https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Viking-Sky-likely-stalled-due-to-low-oil-pressure



The Norwegian Maritime Authority said low oil pressure on the Viking Sky is suspected of causing the engine shutdowns that left the ship without propulsion on March 23 and led to the helicopter evacuation of 479 passengers.

After losing three of the four engines, the captain of the Viking Ocean Cruises ship declared a mayday, as his vessel was dangerously close to shore in the shallow Hustadvika passage along Norway's west coast. In consultation with the Norwegian Coast Guard, an evacuation by helicopter was ordered.

Viking was later able to restart the engines, discontinue the evacuation, and reach port in Molde, Norway.

In a preliminary finding, the maritime authority said that while the level of lubricating oil in the tanks was within set limits, it was relatively low when the vessel started to cross Hustadvika.

"The tanks were provided with level alarms, however these had not been triggered at this time," the agency said. "The heavy seas in Hustadvika probably caused movements in the tanks so large that the supply to the lubricating oil pumps stopped.

"This triggered an alarm indicating a low level of lubrication oil, which in turn shortly thereafter caused an automatic shutdown of the engines," the statement said.

Viking said it welcomed the "prompt and efficient investigation" and that it fully understands and acknowledges the findings.

"We have inspected the levels on all our sister ships and are now revising our procedures to ensure that this issue could not be repeated," a Viking statement said.

The maritime agency said it has issued a general safety notice about the problem.

It also said it will continue to talk to Viking, Lloyd's Register and the Norwegian Accident Investigation Board to determine the underlying causes of the incident.

 

[ctechbob]

Looks like it did move in the last day or two from Molde to Rosseren under its own power. It had made it to Molde after being escorted by a few tugs but my understanding is that it was under its own power at that time as well.

Imagine they're having a good look at the engines to see if there was any damage before they stick paying passengers back on it.

 

[PimTac]

Some reports say the ship took rolls up to 45 degrees. That is a decent roll for any ship but these cruise ships look very top heavy. I would wonder what the point of no return is for these ships?

The other question is why the ship was underway in a area with storm warnings posted?

 

[pkunk]

Those ships rely on engine power for the stability jets to keep them stabil in seas. Even with full power there's only so much they can do. Once the low oil sensors triggered, engines shut down, they lost that stability and it was a MAYDAY situation.

 

[cdlamb]

Originally Posted by ctechbob


The Norwegian Maritime Authority said low oil pressure on the Viking Sky is suspected of causing the engine shutdowns that left the ship without propulsion on March 23 and led to the helicopter evacuation of 479 passengers.

After losing three of the four engines, the captain of the Viking Ocean Cruises ship declared a mayday, as his vessel was dangerously close to shore in the shallow Hustadvika passage along Norway's west coast. In consultation with the Norwegian Coast Guard, an evacuation by helicopter was ordered.


Bonus!

The cruise ship passengers get the opportunity to ride a helicopter, and a cruise ship on the same day.
Sounds like a once in a lifetime event.

 

[69GTX]

Even with a temporary shutdown there ought to be a CO's over-ride or something to restore main propulsion oil flow once lube oil tank levels are stabilized...or at least give them the option to run the pumps in over-ride if the situation requires it. Better to lose an oil pump or two, or even an engine rather than the ship. Why not an option to sluice from one oil tank to another so that at least 1-2 engines could be run? How could a ship's propulsion system not be designed to handle heavy seas, an unforeseen storm, a wind gust up to 100 mph, even a rogue 20-60 ft tidal wave that rocks the ship? This can't be the first time a cruise ship saw heavy weather.

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted by 69GTX
Even with a temporary shutdown there ought to be a CO's over-ride or something to restore main propulsion oil flow once lube oil tank levels are stabilized...or at least give them the option to run the pumps in over-ride if the situation requires it. Better to lose an oil pump or two, or even an engine rather than the ship. Why not an option to sluice from one oil tank to another so that at least 1-2 engines could be run? How could a ship's propulsion system not be designed to handle heavy seas, an unforeseen storm, a wind gust up to 100 mph, even a rogue 20-60 ft tidal wave that rocks the ship? This can't be the first time a cruise ship saw heavy weather.

I do wonder if cruise ships are designed for the same conditions a cargo ship or a naval ship would see? It would seem to me that a cruise ship would try to avoid such conditions in order to keep the passengers comfortable, especially with the high superstructure design.

 

[69GTX]

Originally Posted by PimTac
I do wonder if cruise ships are designed for the same conditions a cargo ship or a naval ship would see? It would seem to me that a cruise ship would try to avoid such conditions in order to keep the passengers comfortable, especially with the high superstructure design.

That certainly makes sense and saves money. Still, if they're out in the open ocean, one-off conditions can show up unexpectedly.

 

[ctechbob]

Originally Posted by cdlamb
Bonus!

The cruise ship passengers get the opportunity to ride a helicopter, and a cruise ship on the same day.
Sounds like a once in a lifetime event.

And a couple free cruises I would imagine. I'd gladly take a few days inconvenience for some free trips (And I say this as I'm getting ready to get on a cruise ship in 10 days)