ReportĀ Text:
No pressure gauge and temperature gauge calibration kits found onboard. This is the first ship during my 6 years at sea that I’ve been on to a ship with no such calibration equipments onboard. As the importance of proper functioning of pressure and temperature gauges of working shipboard machineries cannot be overlooked, this proper functioning can only be ensured properly with the onboard availability of certified calibration kits. Though the ship was dry-docked this year and boiler survey was carried out but the boiler pressure gauge was not calibrated and no calibration certificate exists for such an important pressure vessel. You can imagine the disaster if such an equipment malfunctions. From the Engine Control Room (ECR) one cannot monitor critical parameters like boiler pressure and boiler water level, which if incorrect cannot give appropriate pre-warning to the watch-keeper before giving alarm or will go unnoticed if the alarm fails. According to me it is a very important parameter which should be able to be monitored from the ECR.
CHIRP Comment:
There appears to be wide variation in how different Administrations mandate the calibration of engine gauges. Ā Indeed some may have no requirement for this.
Notwithstanding this, CHIRP believes that calibration of critical engine parameters is an essential practice within a proper maintenance programme and should be promoted as best practice.
Similarly, the ability to monitor critical engine parameters from an Engine Control Room (ECR) is fundamental to the purpose of an ECR and could be considered to be a safety critical element of the ECR design.
