How to deal with marine engine faults

You are a marine mechanic working in the engineering department of a ship. Your main responsibility is maintaining the engine so it keeps generating electricity and propelling the ship.

At the moment, you are in your cabin getting ready for an important meeting with the department lead in 10 minutes about a new project he plans to appoint fully to you.

However, there is a knock on the door and one of your colleagues passes by to let you know that he’s been hearing some unusual noises coming from the main engine in the last two days.

The latest reports from a few days ago seemed to show that everything is in order. You should make a decision whether to trust the ears of a colleague that is not an expert in this field or to check things for yourself.

If you’d like to make sure everything is ok, you need to decide what’s most important to be checked first in order to avoid any ship damage and being late to the meeting, which may cause losing the right to the project you worked hard for. Do you check the ICM records and engine parameters, or the main valve, or maybe the fuel system and oil supply?

If you decide to ignore your colleague’s warning, you will be on time for the meeting with the risk of causing higher operating costs for the ship or more pollution if the engine is really broken.