Air Conditioning out the Star since yesterday

Was there anything we could have done to prevent it? Yes, but it involved injecting biocide (poison) into the sea water

I was told that it's not simple at all to let mussels grow on purpose :)

Are there no other ways besides poison? Using ozone as a biocide? "Windshield wipers"? A whirlpool every 20 minutes so the creatures don't have the time to get a firm grip? Air bubbles for the same effect?

Maybe even lights or sounds that make the clams decide that this is not the right place to start growing.

I was told that it's not simple at all to let mussels grow on purpose :)

 

Are there no other ways besides poison? Using ozone as a biocide? "Windshield wipers"? A whirlpool every 20 minutes so the creatures don't have the time to get a firm grip? Air bubbles for the same effect?

Don't know about that, we have a robust mussel farming industry here in Maine. They seed pieces of mussel shells with sprats, and then work those shells into ropes that the mussels grow on.

The problem is that this is not on the smooth hull of the ship, but in convoluted internal structures and piping, so "windshield wipers" would not work. Think of a sea chest as 4-6 steel boxes connected together, so you would need "wipers" on each of the six sides of each of the boxes. And I can't even imagine a "wiper" for the piping. There are systems to prevent growth of marine life in sea water piping systems, but most of these, even after many years of experience still give spotty results. The other problem is that most of the best systems require use of a sacrificial copper anode. This introduces copper ions into the sea water, which is long life, and is toxic even after discharge from the ship. It also requires the ability to renew the anode when it is consumed, which is why they are installed inside of the sea valve (the first valve in the sea water system, essentially the division between the sea and the ship), so there is no protection for the sea chest, as the flow would be from the sea chest to the anode. Other things like chlorination generators work well for disinfecting sea water (bacteria and viruses), but do not work as well against more complex organisms, and can still result in chlorine discharge into the ocean. Ozone is similar in results to chlorine. The larvae actually attach themselves when experiencing a flow of several hundred cubic meters per hour, so a "whirlpool" would not do much. Introducing air bubbles into the water would possibly cause the pump to become air bound and lose it's pumping capability, or to collect in the heat exchangers, reducing their heat transfer efficiency.

We are on the Star right now & the AC has not been working since yesterday. Head of customer service said the condenser is out 😱. Of course they said they are working on it. Yesterday the lady in the Lotus Spa said she got an email saying they were working on clearing or cleaning the barnickles “ sorry about the spelling “ under the ship. So anyone going on the next cruise, it’s a California coastal, better bring lite weight clothing, or maybe cancel. We are in a full suite & been in Cabo San Lucas since yesterday, which was our scheduled itinerary. We are not happy campers.

Just wanted to give everyone an update.

A/C being out would cause me to abandon ship.

The sea strainers are periodically cleaned. What happens in these cases is that within a few hours, the mollusks die off and you get around 30-50 lbs of shells all at once. You can clean the strainer, and the system works fine and a couple of hours later you get another 30-50 lbs. I have frequently had to clear strainers every 4 hours for a day or two when these cold water to warm water transits happen. This typically takes 4-6 crew (more than the normal engineering watch complement at night) working around the clock to keep the system cleaned.

 

This is not sloppy maintenance, it is a problem across the maritime industry. Twice a year, the Houston Ship Channel is plagued with fish and shrimp that clog sea strainers so quickly that ships transiting the Ship Channel to lose all power and create situations where groundings and collisions can happen. This is so common a problem that the Houston Pilots Association warns ships whenever they board a ship during these seasons that the ship could lose power.

It's amazing the things you learn about cruising/shipping/marine work on cruise critic when someone who really has knowledge of what goes on on ships. It's kind of like going on the Ultimate Ships Tour at your console. Thanks for providing all the info that you do. I certainly appreciate it and believe that others do also.

Now all I have to do is find a trivia quiz that asks me about ships and things! ;p:confused:

Tom

I have been on quite a few aircraft that were not able to leave the terminal after we had all boarded, on aircraft that pushed away only to return, on aircraft that took off only to return immediately to the airport and more. I was grateful that the flight crew discovered the problem and took action to correct it.

Very true. One of the pilot's dictums is "Better to be on the ground, wishing you were in the air, than in the air, wishing you were on the ground!"

Tom

The problem is that this is not on the smooth hull of the ship, but in convoluted internal structures and piping, so "windshield wipers" would not work. Think of a sea chest as 4-6 steel boxes connected together, so you would need "wipers" on each of the six sides of each of the boxes. And I can't even imagine a "wiper" for the piping. There are systems to prevent growth of marine life in sea water piping systems, but most of these, even after many years of experience still give spotty results. The other problem is that most of the best systems require use of a sacrificial copper anode. This introduces copper ions into the sea water, which is long life, and is toxic even after discharge from the ship. It also requires the ability to renew the anode when it is consumed, which is why they are installed inside of the sea valve (the first valve in the sea water system, essentially the division between the sea and the ship), so there is no protection for the sea chest, as the flow would be from the sea chest to the anode. Other things like chlorination generators work well for disinfecting sea water (bacteria and viruses), but do not work as well against more complex organisms, and can still result in chlorine discharge into the ocean. Ozone is similar in results to chlorine. The larvae actually attach themselves when experiencing a flow of several hundred cubic meters per hour, so a "whirlpool" would not do much. Introducing air bubbles into the water would possibly cause the pump to become air bound and lose it's pumping capability, or to collect in the heat exchangers, reducing their heat transfer efficiency.

OK, plan 1 .. 4 wouldn't work. And copper should be in the engines, not in the ocean. Ozone would seem to be nicer than chlorine being both poisonous and short lived at the same time.

This field must have been studied a lot, but it's hard to believe that you can't convince a mussel not to grow in sea chests without using poison.

One more try. :) Snails will escape when they encounter 6V

OK, plan 1 .. 4 wouldn't work. And copper should be in the engines, not in the ocean. Ozone would seem to be nicer than chlorine being both poisonous and short lived at the same time.

 

This field must have been studied a lot, but it's hard to believe that you can't convince a mussel not to grow in sea chests without using poison.

 

One more try. :) Snails will escape when they encounter 6V

How about sending a high voltage through the whole system for a few milliseconds, every 5 minutes, as if there's a very angry electric eel nearby. Would mussels still be stubborn enough to attach themselves to the wall and start growing?

Can't say, since I've never asked a mussel whether voltage bothers them; how high a voltage are you talking about? Because the main problem is that introducing a high voltage into a system that has two or more metals in it (like a ship) with an electrolyte between the metals (like sea water), you've got a battery, and the less noble metal will corrode away. Ships try to prevent electrolytic corrosion by putting a zinc anode on the ship, and introducing a 120 millivolt potential into the anode and the hull, to force the zinc anode to corrode and not the steel of the hull. Adding another voltage, especially a high voltage would not only counteract this "impressed current anti-corrosion" system, but actually radically increase the corrosion of steel on the ship, especially in the piping where the voltage/current is introduced. This is why the ship has the "floating ground" electrical system that causes problems with surge protected devices. As a final thing, how do you prvent this voltage from going from the sea water system to any other conductive metal in the ship, with the possibility of shock to personnel.

3 hours ago, Victor23w1 said:

Yes, it is certainly an unpleasant situation and gives a lot of trouble , especially on such a large ship. It is strange why the team of technicians could not understand the breakdown of the air conditioner . Perhaps they were not competent in this matter . In this case, they  could  ask for help  one of the companies that are engaged in the repairing  and maintenance of air conditioners  airconservicingsingapore.com/ .I think this problem could be solved in the shortest time possible only this way.

First off, as noted earlier in the thread, the problem was not with the air conditioning system, it was with the cooling water for the air conditioning system.  Secondly, the ship has specialist engineers onboard that specialize in HVAC equipment and systems, and would be just as competent as the company you linked, though not sure why a company in Singapore would be called to assist a ship off the coast of Mexico.  Lastly, not sure this company has experience in marine air conditioning systems, or in the size of systems involved.

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

First off, as noted earlier in the thread, the problem was not with the air conditioning system, it was with the cooling water for the air conditioning system.  Secondly, the ship has specialist engineers onboard that specialize in HVAC equipment and systems, and would be just as competent as the company you linked, though not sure why a company in Singapore would be called to assist a ship off the coast of Mexico.  Lastly, not sure this company has experience in marine air conditioning systems, or in the size of systems involved.

And lastly this thread was from last year so the problem has been solved.