Debris in an engine’s lube oil system led to a diesel engine failure and an engine room fire aboard a passenger vessel docked in Portland, Maine, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
Debris in an engine’s lube oil system led to a diesel engine failure and an engine room fire aboard a passenger vessel docked in Portland, Maine, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has confirmed.
The passenger vessel Ocean Navigator was moored at the Ocean Gateway Terminal on Oct. 18, 2023, when the no. 2 auxiliary diesel generator engine suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure that seriously injured one crewmember and resulted in an engine-room fire. Crewmembers secured ventilation to the engine room, and the fire self-extinguished. None of the 128 passengers onboard were injured, and no pollution was reported. Damage to the vessel was estimated at $2.4 million.
After the fire, third-party technicians disassembled all components from the no. 2 auxiliary engine and found the crankshaft, several main bearings, connecting rod bearings and the no. 14 fuel injector were damaged. An additional inspection found abnormal wear on the connecting rod bearings and main bearings, which showed signs of cavitation erosion bearing damage, as well as damage from debris, which had been introduced at some point into the lube oil system.
NTSB investigators found the engine failure was caused by debris in the engine’s lube oil system—possibly due to the crew exceeding
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