Takoradi Port Mechanical Department

Study Notes

Located at the Takoradi port, the mechanical department is used for the repair of vessels.
There are two types of docks at the Takoradi port: dry dock and slipway.

A dry dock is a dug-out hole with pumps, a seat (mount), and a gate that prevents seawater from entering the dock after it's been closed and dried out by pumps through a process called bleeding.
The gate is operated by a system called a winch, located on both sides of the gate and controlled by a remote controller.
The dock has valves (foot valves) located below the surface of the earth, which open and close to control the amount of water entering the dock.
A pump house is located behind the dock, where centrifugal pumps driven by motors are connected to remove water from the dock.
Tirfor jacks are located on either side of the dock, with ropes that hold the vessel in place when it's in the dock, preventing it from slipping from its mount.

A slipway is a type of dock with cradles (like railway tracks) where the mounts are placed on the cradle, and with the help of winches, slide into the sea to pick up a shipping vessel.
This type of dock is used for performing blasting under the shipping vessel being docked.

Fenders are hard tires with metallic rods placed around the edges of tug boats to avoid creating scratches or damaging the surface of the ship.

This machine is located in the mechanical workshop and uses hydraulic oil to press materials.

An engine is a machine that converts energy into mechanical energy and motion.
Some engines have two strokes, while others have four.
There are two main types of engines: internal and external combustion engines.
Tug boats have two main engines with 16 cylinders each in a V-shape, and they use Cummings engines.

Every ship has an engine room where components and systems are located.
Safety is a top priority in the engine room, and there are fire extinguishers placed at certain points to stop any fire outbreak.
There are five fire extinguishers in the engine room, all of which are dry powder extinguishers.

To start the engines, the engineer on board checks all fuel levels, goes to the engine control board, turns it on to manual, selects start, and waits for a couple of minutes.
The engineer then turns on the hydraulic pumps and sets the propellers to high speed.

The bilge well is a gutter inside a vessel that accumulates condensed vapor and water from other parts of the engines and air conditioners.
There are balls in the bilge well that determine whether it's full or not.
There are also bilge valves that are used to empty the bilge wells.

To empty the bilge well, the engineer opens the bilge outlet valves, switches on the air compressors, and presses the green button on the bilge control panel.

The cooler box is a cooling system located inside a vessel to cool down the engines.

A cofferdam is the space given between two tanks to prevent mixing of different liquids.

Soundings are done to check the amount of liquid (fuel) in a tank using a sounding tape.
The tape is metallic and has a heavy brass shaped like a bullet at the tip, which produces a sound when it hits the bottom of the tank.

The mess room is a place where people on board eat and relax.
Cabins are small rooms inside a ship where people on board go to relax and sleep.

A ballast tank is a compartment within a boat or ship that holds water, which is used to provide hydrostatic stability, reduce or control buoyancy, correct trim or list, or provide a more even load distribution along the hull.