MV BLUEFIN QUALITY MANUAL - Australian Maritime College

Australian Maritime College
APPENDIX 2.6
ENGINE ROOM - RESTORE POWER AFTER ALTERNATORS TRIP OUT
Following incident on 4/12/08, ship blacked out:
Status: Breakers tripped out, alternators running, unable to close breakers, ship on
emergency power:
1. Open all circuit breakers on main switchboard.
2. Close main breaker from alternator running.
3. If breaker closes, voltage OK, close breakers for lights and steering.
4. Lights and steering OK, check all distribution boards for burnt contactors etc. to
locate fault. Start with larger electric motors, e.g. fridge compressors.
5. Once fault found, isolate (tag out) faulty circuit and then close other breakers on
main switchboard.
NOTE
1. If unable to find fault, close breakers systematically until alternator trips out. Last
breaker closed is therefore faulty circuit.
2. An external soft short across 2 phases of a large 415 V contactor may trip alternators
off board without tripping the main circuit breaker for that particular circuit.
3. When ship blacks out, Propeller goes to full pitch and Main Engine goes to full
throttle. Undo bypass valves next to hand throttle and control engine with the hand
throttle in Engine Room.
Append 2.6 - Alternators Tripout.docx 1
Revised: November 2010