The other day I suggested to David Jewkes our Chief Engineer that it would be a good idea to feature some Engine Room shots on my blog. David was 'up for it' as they say and I hope you enjoy this insight in to Arcadia's Technical Department. Without our Engineers we would be going nowhere!
Here we go...................
A look behind the scenes and into the on board Technical Department. The Department consists of some 69 staff, 20 officers and 49 crew.
The senior managers of the department are,
David Jewkes Chief Engineer: David has been with the company for 39 years starting as a cadet engineer and working his way up through the ranks achieving the position of Chief Engineer in 1988. He has served as Chief Engineer on several ships in the P&O Cruises and Princess fleets
Jason Truman Staff Chief Engineer: Jason joined P&O Cruises as a cadet engineer in 1989 sailing on various ships within P&O Cruises, he was first promoted to Staff Chief Engineer after working in the shipyard with Arcadia while she was being built.
Martin O Rourke, Staff Electro Technical Officer: Martin joined the company in 1994, he was on the build project of Arcadia and has just recently returned from the ship yard where Azura is bring finished. He has served as SETO with P&O Cruises, Cunard and the Princess Fleet.
The department is responsible for all the Technical aspects of our cruise ships be it the Diesel Generators, Lifts, Toilers, Computers, Galley equipment etc etc, one could say a list as long as your arm however, one would need very long arms.................Main Engine Room.
Nick the First Engineer has a team of Fitters and Ratings to complete all the required maintenance and maintain the cleanliness of the engine room from stem to stern and keel to funnel, a huge area. (The team can be seen on top of one of the Diesel Generators).
We have a fully equipped and functioning work shop consisting of lathes, milling machine, welding shop injector shop etc etc.Main Control Room.
We have a state of the art control room which is manned 24 hours per day 365 days per year. The senior watch keeper can oversee the entire power plant be it the Diesel Generators, Azipod units, evaporators sewage treatment plants, swimming pools etc. He is assisted by a junior watch keeper and a motor man.
Some of the operations remain manual within the machinery spaces which will be undertaken either by the Junior watch keeper or Motor Man who can be seen above.
It goes without saying that we keep our lads in trim just in case we need that little bit of extra speed……
We currently have a cadet on board who is training to be an engineer. Euan can be seen collecting electronic data from the engine which can be later downloaded to a computer and the performance of the engine be analysed to ensure the Diesel is operating at its design performance.
As can be seen, they are not very small the diesels on board Arcadia. (Like all young engineers, they would just love to be able to harness the power of one of these engines and put it into their car!).
The ships ventilation, air conditioning cold rooms fridges etc are all looked after by a team consisting of one officer and 5 crew. They have to maintain the Air Conditioning plant so that everyone is kept cool in the very hot and humid conditions that the ship can be subjected to and also keep everyone warm when we are in colder cruising climates. They also maintain all the cold room, freeze rooms, ice machines etc so that cocktail drinks are served at the correct temperature. During the world cruise to date the ice machines would be capable of generating some 1200 Tonnes of ice.
We have 4 Plumbers on Arcadia, 3 who work during the day, and 1 who works during the night.The 1st Plumber is responsible for the supervision and work of the other plumbers which will consist of regular maintenance on the sprinkler system, fire main, fresh water system, technical water system, grey water system and vacuum toilet systems.
Arcadia has over 1500 bathrooms all with toilets, wash hand basins and shower facilities to maintain thus the team are kept quite busy every day.
We have 4 carpenters and 1 painter polisher on board Arcadia.The No 1 carpenter is responsible for the supervision of his team to maintain the internal appearance of the ship be it carpentry, carpets, wall coverings, French polishing etc etc. They will also replace worn out hinges and most recently under took the complete replacement of the passenger hydro pool duck boarding from within the shower.
A stunning job completed on board.
The Hotel/Deck team look after all the hotel equipment be it in the Main Galley, Laundry or even mooring winches. The team consists of 7 crew led by one officer. As you can imagine, the Hotel having to look after nearly 3000 passengers and crew has a lot of equipment which will require a lot of maintenance to be carried out in order to maintain it 100% operational. Just think how much washing up gets done on board………………..
We may have a small team who look after our Technical Stores but they have a mammoth job to do.The Technical Stores Manager and his team provide all aspects of technical stores support on board. From large engine machinery parts to shower mixers in the cabins, and from large electrical components to theatre and house lights. A variety of storerooms, lockers and spaces are used to maintain an inventory of 23,000 line items, a total value between 7 and 8 figures. A 100% stocktaking cycle completed every 2 years allied to constant stock reviews ensure that the correct level of support is provided at all times.
The administration of the department can be quite daunting at first but we have a Technical Clerk who beavers away all day long making sure that the electronic paper keeps moving let alone the hard copies of documents which must be filed away for future reference.
We have a small team who have a very responsible job to look after our state of the art Sewage Treatment system along with the regular mechanical maintenance of the Azipods. The Sewage treatment system is so state of the art you will not find it in a land based establishment. It is claimed by the manufacturer that the output product is drinkable………… It also goes without saying that the maintenance of the Azipods is of paramount importance to successful delivery of the cruise itinerary.
The Staff Electro-Technical Officer (SETO) on board Arcadia is responsible for the management of the Electro-Technical Department and maintenance and testing of all electrical and electronic equipment on the ship together with 1st ETO, 2ND ETO Engine and 2nd ETO Hotel, IT Officer, 3RD ETO and 5 Technicians, TV operator , Audio operator and Lamp man.They are maintaining various systems such as the Electrical Generation Power Plant 61,600KW, High Voltage distribution system 11000V, electrically driven Propulsion AZI POD Motors 2 x 17,600KW, Integrated Automation and Monitoring System, Electrical and Electronic Navigation and Bridge equipment, Broadcast and Communication systems, Telephone Exchange system, Fire detection system, Engine Room machinery systems, 23 Elevators, deck equipment, mooring winches and anchors, accommodation ladders, shell doors, watertight doors, galleys equipment, laundry equipment to ship lighting system, where we have replaced “only” 2723 lamps since World Cruise 2010 has started. 
One day the Electro technical Technicians could be working on washing machine and the next day……..
They could be working on a Coffee machine.
One of the 23 lifts on board Arcadia which all require regular maintenance and upkeep.
As you can see, the panoramic lifts do go a long way down …………………or is it up?
One day an Electro Technical officer could be inside one of the Diesel Generator Alternators conducting an inspection to ensure all is in order, while another work colleague could be………
Inside one of the main Azipods. As you can see, it’s a tight fit for someone to get into and out of one of the Azipods.
It is however reassuring when you have a work colleague to assist you in the tight confines of the Azipods.
As with the world today we have numerous computers on board, in fact we have over 120 computers which are all looked after by our on board IT Officer. One could say he has his work cut out for him………but he loves his job.
We have 3 swimming pools and 5 spa pools which have to be diligently looked after 24 hours per day to ensure they meet all health requirements. Our pool fitter is always up at the crack of dawn and that has to be the “Crack of Dawn” to make sure all are correct and operational as many of our passengers like an early morning swim.
If you were to stand on the dock side and look at the size of Arcadia, you would realise it takes a lot to keep it clean and tidy be it in the hotel or in the technical spaces. Every year we have a work squad join us for a couple of months in order to help us “Spring clean” the technical spaces. As you can see, they are a happy but hard working squad.
lots to maintain......
lots to keep clean......
As the engine room goes on for a long long way!Some World Cruise facts and figures,
Since Leaving Southampton on this world cruise.......................
Using waste heat from the engines we have been able to produce some 47,000 Tonnes of potable fresh water. We have consumed on average 665 Tonnes of potable water per day. (That’s drinking water).
We have drawn from the technical store over 3,500 items in the course of completing maintenance and repairs.
Since leaving Southampton on the 10th of January the propellers have completed over 10 million revolutions.
Some Arcadia Technical Facts
The main engines since new have run a grand total of some 117,000 hrs which is over 13 years in total.
The ship has already covered over half a million nautical miles since entering service. (We have in other words completed an Apollo mission, been to the moon and back).
Using the waste heat from the engines we have been able to produce just over 1 Million tonnes of potable fresh drinking water since the ship entered service.
Also, to prove that we scrub up well, here are some of the technical officers fully booted and spurred and ready for attending a passenger social function.
Once the show starts in the Technical department …………………..it continues throughout the ship.So there you have it - Arcadia's Technical Department. My thanks to David and all who took part in pulling this blog together.
We had a good day in Dubai yesterday - very hot!! We are now on our way to Aqaba - a five day sea passage. I hope to post some photgraphs of Dubai soon and also a sea day blog for those of you who have been asking what do we do all day at sea?
Best wishes meantime,
James.
It is man that can make the Way great, and not the Way that can make a man great.
Confucius
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