4/17/2015

8CommonProblemsFoundInSteeringGearSystemOfShips

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8CommonProblemsFoundInSteeringGearSystemOfShips
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JULY9,2014BYANISH

Avessel,underpilotage,departedaportinballastandwasdownboundinarestrictedwaterway.The
enginecontrolwassettobridgecontrolandahelmsmanwasusingmanualfullfollowup(FFU)steering.

Reintjes
GearboxRepairs,Service,
O/haul,Inspection,Parts&
Sales.

Atonepointaportalterationwasrequestedhowever,therudderangleindicatorshowed10degreesto
starboard.SeveralportandstarboardhelminputswereattemptedwiththeFFUbutnorudder
movementcouldbeobservedontherudderangleindicator.Thepilotthenorderedtheenginetobe
stoppedandthattheanchorbereadied.
TheMasterarrivedonthebridgejustasthevesselwasleavingthebuoyedchannel.Hewentdirectlyto
thesteeringstandandtransferredthesteeringsystemactuatorswitchfromtheportsystemtostarboard
system.Thisactionrestoredcontroltothesteeringbutitwastoolate.Thevesselranagroundatan
estimatedspeedof8knotsovertheground.
Accidentsbecauseofsteeringgearfailurearecommoninthemaritimeindustry.Suchincidentshave
leadtosomeseriousaccidentsinthepart,causingheavydamagetoship,itscrewandthe
environment.
Periodicmaintenanceandchecksareextremelyimportantforsmoothfunctioningofshipssteeringgear.
However,thereareafewcommonissueswhichtendtooccurinspiteoftakingallnecessary
precautions.

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8CommonProblemsFoundInSteeringGearSystemOfShips

Mentionedbelowareeightsuchcommonissuesofsteeringgearsystem:
1.OilLeakages:Portstatecontrolshaveverystrictpolicyofzeroleakagefromshipssteeringgear.
Manyshipshavebeenfinedanddetainedduetosuchfaultspointedoutduringportstatecontrol
inspection.Still,oilleakagefromthesteeringgearisoneofthemostcommonproblemsonshipsa
resultofmachinerysystemshavingseveralmovingpartsoperatedbyhydraulicoil.Someofthe
mainareasofleakagesarecylinderramsealinhydraulicramtypesteeringgearandsealinthe
chambersofarotaryvanepump.Needlesstosay,anykindofleakagefromsteeringgearsystemmust
berectifiedimmediately.
2.DifferenceintheActualRudderAngleandOrderedHelmAngle:Anothercommonproblem
observedinsteeringgearsystemisthedifferenceintheanglegivenatthehelmandtheactualrudder
angle.Thisoccursduetowrongorinsufficientadjustmentofcontrolandrepeatbacklever.Torectify
thisproblem,theturnbuckleattachedtotherodofcontrolandrepeatbackleveraretobeprecisely
adjusted.
3.UnsatisfactorySteering:Thefuelconsumptionoftheshipgreatlydependsontheefficiencyof
steeringgearoperation.Ifthesteeringgearisoperatingunsatisfactory,itwillleadtodelayintheETAof
theshipandincreasemainenginefuelconsumption.Commonreasonforthisproblemismalfunctioning
ofsafetyvalvesorbypassvalvesinthesystem.Anyprobleminthecontrolandrepeatbackleverwill
alsoleadtounsatisfactorysteering.
Tosolvethisissue,safetyandbypassvalveoperationaretobecheckedatregularintervals.Ifany
problemisnoted,sametoberecitedattheearliest.
Forcontrolandrepeatbacklever,theturnbuckleattachedtotherodofcontrolandrepeatbacklever
aretobepreciselyadjusted.

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8CommonProblemsFoundInSteeringGearSystemOfShips

4.ExcessiveNoisefromSteeringGear:Excessivenoiseandvibrationsfromthesteeringgear
indicatesentrapmentofairinthesystem.Duetoairbubblesintheoil,pumpsandpipingsaresubjected
toairhammerleadingtovibrationandheavynoise.Airmustberemovedfromthesystemusingvent
valveprovidedinthecylinderandpumpspeciallyafterthesystemisreplenishedwithnewoil.Ifthe
valvelocatedintheoilsupplytankofthesteeringgearisthrottledorclosed,itwillagaindevelopair
bubblesinthesystem.Ensurethatthisvalveisalwaysopenwhenthesystemisinoperation.
5.HighOilTemperature:Oilistheoperatingmediainthesteeringgearsystem.Anyabnormalityinthe
parametersofoilwillleadtootheroperationsrelatedproblemsinthesteeringgear.Ifthereisincreasein
theoiltemperature,itwilldirectlyreducetheviscosityoftheoilandhamperthesteeringoperation.The
mostcommoncauseofincreaseinoiltemperatureislowoillevelinthesystem.Thus,ensurethatlow
oillevelalarminthetankisworkingandreplenishtheoilwhenrequired.
6.RudderMovementisWithinorBeyondtheLimit:TheSOLASrequirementforsteeringgearsays
thatthesystemmustbecapableofputtingtherudderoverfrom35degononesideto35degonthe
othersideoftheshipatitsdeepestseagoingdraughtandrunningatmaximumaheadservicespeed.It
maysometimeshappenthatthemaximumanglereachedbytherudderislessthanprescribedorthe
rudderisovershootingthe35degreeanglemark.
Oneofthemainreasonsforthisproblemismalfunctioningoflimitswitchfittedontherepeatbackunitor
ontheautopilot.Replacethemalfunctionedlimitswitchoradjustthelimitswitchtomaximumprescribed
rudderangle.

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7.NoSteeringfromRemotecontrol:Theirisalwaysaprovisionoflocalmaneuveringinthesteering
gearforemergencysituationiftheremotecontroloperationfails.Somecommonreasonsforfailureof
removecontrolsare:
Breakdownofhydraulicpumps:Otherhydraulicpumptobestartedinsuchcases
Malfunctionoftransfervalve
Malfunctioningofhydraulicbypassvalveinthepump
Oilleakage
Problemintelecontrolsystem
8.RudderAngleTransmitterandTillerLinkFailure:On29April2011,thePanamaregisteredbulk
carrierDumungroundedwhiledepartingtheportofGladstone,Queensland.Priortothegrounding,the
shipssteeringappearedtohavestoprespondingtobridgecommandswhenthelinkagebetweenthe
tillerandrudderangletransmitterdetached.Thesteeringgearcontinuedtooperatenormally,butthe
transmitterlostitsinputsignaland,asaresult,thebridgemountedrudderangleindicatorstopped
working.Suchcasesarerarebuttheydooccur.
Toavoidsuchaccidents,ensurethatthedutyofficermusttakearoundbeforeeverymaneuveringor
departureporttocheckallthelinkagesintheengineroom.
Thesearesomeofthemostcommonissuesseeninsteeringgearsystemonboardships.Steeringgear
issueshavealsobeencausedduetoelectricalsystemfailure,impropermaintenance,collisions/
accidentsetc.
Doyouanyothercommonproblemsassociatedwithsteeringgearofships?Letsknowinthecomments
below.
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