ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS OF DIESEL GENERATOR BLACKOUT DUE TO FUEL RACK MALFUNCTION ON MV SINAR SORONG
Keywords:
diesel generator, fuel system, exhaust gas temperature, blackout, preventive maintenanceAbstract
The electricity of a ship greatly depends on diesel generators, which depend on the fuel system to be effectively combusted. This study examines a ship blackout incident that was occasioned by a huge disparity in exhaust gas temperature in a diesel generator. Data were collected by observing, interviewing, documenting and reviewing the literature using a qualitative descriptive design and Fishbone diagram as a tool of analysis. The root cause of the study has been cited as failure in combustion in one of the cylinders brought about by mechanical slip in the fuel rack system. Results show that problems in the delivery of fuel, including leakages in the pipes, corrosion, stuck fuel racks, and poor monitoring cause imbalances during combustion. Such imbalances increase the exhaust temperatures causing extreme degradation of performance and resultant blackouts. To avoid the occurrence in future, ensure the stability of the generators, and minimize the loss of the economy, this paper can recommend planned preventive maintenance, stringent monitoring schedule, and thorough documentation, so that the fuel system has the best safety.
References
Anantharaman, M., Khan, F., Garaniya, V., & Lewam, B. (2015). Reliability of fuel oil system components versus main propulsion engine: An impact assessment study. In Safety of Marine Transport: Marine Navigation and Safety of Sea Transportation (pp. 167–172). https://doi.org/10.1201/b18515
Chin, C. S., & Nazli, N. B. (2021). Fault Exploratory Data Analysis of Real-Time Marine Diesel Engine Data Using R Programming. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, 1270, 185–197. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8289-9_18
German-Galkin, S., Tarnapowicz, D., Matuszak, Z., & Jaskiewicz, M. (2020). Optimization to limit the effects of underloaded generator sets in stand-alone hybrid ship grids. Energies, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/en13030708
Going with the flow. (2006). MER - Marine Engineers Review, (DEC./JAN.), 14–19.
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-
33846398119&partnerID=40&md5=c2b4a77c78545d84dd092119d6b47a94
Islam, R., Anantharaman, M., Khan, F., & Garaniya, V. (2019). Reliability assessment of a main propulsion engine fuel oil system-what are the failure-prone components? TransNav, 13(2), 415–420. https://doi.org/10.12716/1001.13.02.20
Kocak, G., Gokcek, V., & Genc, Y. (2023). Condition monitoring and fault diagnosis of a marine diesel engine with machine learning techniques. Pomorstvo, 37(1), 32–46. https://doi.org/10.31217/p.37.1.4
Koyama, A., & Arimoto, N. (2022). Development of Fuel-Efficient Marine Engine Oils. Toraibarojisuto/Journal of Japanese Society of Tribologists, 67(8), 535–540. https://doi.org/10.18914/tribologist.67.08_535
Michalopoulos, P., Tsekouras, G. J., Kanellos, F. D., & Prousalidis, J. M. (2022). Optimal Selection of the Diesel Generators Supplying a Ship Electric Power System. Applied Sciences (Switzerland), 12(20).
https://doi.org/10.3390/app122010463
Mohammed, A. G., Mosleh, M., El-Maghlany, W. M., & Ammar, N. R. (2020). Performance analysis of supercritical ORC utilizing marine diesel engine waste heat recovery. Alexandria Engineering Journal, 59(2), 893–904. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2020.03.021
Moussa Nahim, H., Younes, R., Shraim, H., & Ouladsine, M. (2016). Modeling with Fault Integration of the
Cooling and the Lubricating Systems in Marine Diesel Engine: Experimental validation. IFAC-
PapersOnLine, 49(11), 570–575. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2016.08.083
Nahim, H. M., Younes, R., Nohra, C., & Ouladsine, M. (2015). Complete modeling for systems of a marine diesel engine. Journal of Marine Science and Application, 14(1), 93–104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11804-
015-1285-y
Onishchenko, O. A., Melnyk, O. M., Yarovenko, V. A., Aleksandrovska, N. I., Kurdiuk, S. V, Parmenova, D. G., & Storchak, O. O. (2023). STUDY OF EFFICIENCY AND ADVANCEMENT OF MARINE
ENGINE OIL PURIFICATION AND FILTRATION TECHNOLOGIES. Journal of Chemistry and
Technologies, 31(4), 762–774. https://doi.org/10.15421/jchemtech.v31i4.285643
Piana, E. (2022). Surfing Green, Saving Money. Progress in Marine Science and Technology, 6, 295–304. https://doi.org/10.3233/PMST220037
Rajendr Prasad, R. (2018). Cooling system for marine ship fuel engines. International Journal of Mechanical and Production Engineering Research and Development, 8(1), 873–878.
https://doi.org/10.24247/ijmperdfeb2018104
Roychoudhury, S., & Mastanduno, R. (2011). Balance of Plant. In Fuel Cells: Technologies for Fuel Processing (pp. 517–526). https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-53563-4.10015-X
Ruvio, A., Elia, S., Pasquali, M., Pibiri, R., McPhail, S., & Fontanella, M. (2025). Innovative Power Generation
System for Large Ships Based on Fuel Cells: A Technical–Economic Comparison with a Traditional
System. Energies, 18(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/en18061456
Sellers, C., & Hawkins, L. (2017). Development of a 350kw marine Organic Rankine power module for ship waste steam. Proceedings of the ASME Turbo Expo, 3. https://doi.org/10.1115/GT2017-63026
Serbin, S. (2023). Development of Plasma-Chemical Combustion Intensification Systems for Hydrocarbon Fuels in Marine Power Engineering. IET Conference Proceedings, 2023(31), 537–540. https://doi.org/10.1049/icp.2024.0272
Stanivuk, T., Lalić, B., Mikuličić, J. Ž., & Šundov, M. (2021). Simulation modelling of marine diesel engine
cooling system. Transactions on Maritime Science, 10(1), 112–125. https://doi.org/10.7225/toms.v10.n01.008
Stoliaryk, T. (2022). ANALYSIS OF THE OPERATION OF MARINE DIESEL ENGINES WHEN USING ENGINE OILS WITH DIFFERENT STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS. Technology Audit and
Production Reserves, 5(1), 22–32. https://doi.org/10.15587/2706-5448.2022.265868
Tarnapowicz, D., German-Galkin, S., Nerc, A., & Jaskiewicz, M. (2023). Improving the Energy Efficiency of a Ship’s Power Plant by Using an Autonomous Hybrid System with a PMSG. Energies, 16(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/en16073158
Vrolijk, D. J. E. (2008). Challenges and solutions for marine engine oil technology. 14th Annual Fuels and
Lubes Asia Conference. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-
44649136780&partnerID=40&md5=25cc5d6e2b67d47ce4217163ca4dcc1a
Yang, H., & Sun, J. (2022). Development of Ship Fuel Supply Simulation Training System. Proceedings - 2022 7th International Conference on Automation, Control and Robotics Engineering, CACRE 2022, 281–287.
https://doi.org/10.1109/CACRE54574.2022.9834207
Chin, C. S., & Nazli, N. B. (2021). Fault Exploratory Data Analysis of Real-Time Marine Diesel Engine Data Using R Programming. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, 1270, 185–197. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8289-9_18
German-Galkin, S., Tarnapowicz, D., Matuszak, Z., & Jaskiewicz, M. (2020). Optimization to limit the effects of underloaded generator sets in stand-alone hybrid ship grids. Energies, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/en13030708
Going with the flow. (2006). MER - Marine Engineers Review, (DEC./JAN.), 14–19.
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-
33846398119&partnerID=40&md5=c2b4a77c78545d84dd092119d6b47a94
Islam, R., Anantharaman, M., Khan, F., & Garaniya, V. (2019). Reliability assessment of a main propulsion engine fuel oil system-what are the failure-prone components? TransNav, 13(2), 415–420. https://doi.org/10.12716/1001.13.02.20
Kocak, G., Gokcek, V., & Genc, Y. (2023). Condition monitoring and fault diagnosis of a marine diesel engine with machine learning techniques. Pomorstvo, 37(1), 32–46. https://doi.org/10.31217/p.37.1.4
Koyama, A., & Arimoto, N. (2022). Development of Fuel-Efficient Marine Engine Oils. Toraibarojisuto/Journal of Japanese Society of Tribologists, 67(8), 535–540. https://doi.org/10.18914/tribologist.67.08_535
Michalopoulos, P., Tsekouras, G. J., Kanellos, F. D., & Prousalidis, J. M. (2022). Optimal Selection of the Diesel Generators Supplying a Ship Electric Power System. Applied Sciences (Switzerland), 12(20).
https://doi.org/10.3390/app122010463
Mohammed, A. G., Mosleh, M., El-Maghlany, W. M., & Ammar, N. R. (2020). Performance analysis of supercritical ORC utilizing marine diesel engine waste heat recovery. Alexandria Engineering Journal, 59(2), 893–904. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2020.03.021
Moussa Nahim, H., Younes, R., Shraim, H., & Ouladsine, M. (2016). Modeling with Fault Integration of the
Cooling and the Lubricating Systems in Marine Diesel Engine: Experimental validation. IFAC-
PapersOnLine, 49(11), 570–575. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2016.08.083
Nahim, H. M., Younes, R., Nohra, C., & Ouladsine, M. (2015). Complete modeling for systems of a marine diesel engine. Journal of Marine Science and Application, 14(1), 93–104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11804-
015-1285-y
Onishchenko, O. A., Melnyk, O. M., Yarovenko, V. A., Aleksandrovska, N. I., Kurdiuk, S. V, Parmenova, D. G., & Storchak, O. O. (2023). STUDY OF EFFICIENCY AND ADVANCEMENT OF MARINE
ENGINE OIL PURIFICATION AND FILTRATION TECHNOLOGIES. Journal of Chemistry and
Technologies, 31(4), 762–774. https://doi.org/10.15421/jchemtech.v31i4.285643
Piana, E. (2022). Surfing Green, Saving Money. Progress in Marine Science and Technology, 6, 295–304. https://doi.org/10.3233/PMST220037
Rajendr Prasad, R. (2018). Cooling system for marine ship fuel engines. International Journal of Mechanical and Production Engineering Research and Development, 8(1), 873–878.
https://doi.org/10.24247/ijmperdfeb2018104
Roychoudhury, S., & Mastanduno, R. (2011). Balance of Plant. In Fuel Cells: Technologies for Fuel Processing (pp. 517–526). https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-53563-4.10015-X
Ruvio, A., Elia, S., Pasquali, M., Pibiri, R., McPhail, S., & Fontanella, M. (2025). Innovative Power Generation
System for Large Ships Based on Fuel Cells: A Technical–Economic Comparison with a Traditional
System. Energies, 18(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/en18061456
Sellers, C., & Hawkins, L. (2017). Development of a 350kw marine Organic Rankine power module for ship waste steam. Proceedings of the ASME Turbo Expo, 3. https://doi.org/10.1115/GT2017-63026
Serbin, S. (2023). Development of Plasma-Chemical Combustion Intensification Systems for Hydrocarbon Fuels in Marine Power Engineering. IET Conference Proceedings, 2023(31), 537–540. https://doi.org/10.1049/icp.2024.0272
Stanivuk, T., Lalić, B., Mikuličić, J. Ž., & Šundov, M. (2021). Simulation modelling of marine diesel engine
cooling system. Transactions on Maritime Science, 10(1), 112–125. https://doi.org/10.7225/toms.v10.n01.008
Stoliaryk, T. (2022). ANALYSIS OF THE OPERATION OF MARINE DIESEL ENGINES WHEN USING ENGINE OILS WITH DIFFERENT STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS. Technology Audit and
Production Reserves, 5(1), 22–32. https://doi.org/10.15587/2706-5448.2022.265868
Tarnapowicz, D., German-Galkin, S., Nerc, A., & Jaskiewicz, M. (2023). Improving the Energy Efficiency of a Ship’s Power Plant by Using an Autonomous Hybrid System with a PMSG. Energies, 16(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/en16073158
Vrolijk, D. J. E. (2008). Challenges and solutions for marine engine oil technology. 14th Annual Fuels and
Lubes Asia Conference. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-
44649136780&partnerID=40&md5=25cc5d6e2b67d47ce4217163ca4dcc1a
Yang, H., & Sun, J. (2022). Development of Ship Fuel Supply Simulation Training System. Proceedings - 2022 7th International Conference on Automation, Control and Robotics Engineering, CACRE 2022, 281–287.
https://doi.org/10.1109/CACRE54574.2022.9834207
