MARINE ENGINEERING TEAM

FLEET UPKEEP GROUP

Category : Electricity

DATE :
03/21/2012
REF.NO. : 2012 - 001
SEQ.NO. : 578 E

SUBJECT: Blackout while passing through the Gulf of Aden

A main switchboard blackout occurred on an LNG vessel under our operation
while it was passing through the Gulf of Aden. The blackout happened
during maintenance work on the main switchboard. After the blackout,
electrical power was immediately restored, but the ship's crew took approx.
5.5 hours to restore all systems, including the main turbine. As a result,
the ship was immobilized while it was in the piracy area.
Diesel propulsion ships may encounter the occurrence of blackout similarly.
To avoid a similar trouble, the following should be confirmed as soon as
possible: the condition of each air circuit breaker (ACB), ACB operation,
and emergency procedures.
Needless to say, the risk of marine casualties in high-risk areas or during
coastal navigation is higher than during oceangoing navigation.
Therefore, a risk assessment prior to maintenance work should be carried
out if the possibility of a blackout exists.
1. Summary of accident
<Details of repair work>
Replacement of the malfunctioned HIMAP for the No. 2 turbine generator
fitted in the main switchboard (MSB).
Function of HIMAP: Power management of MSB, monitoring,
and safety device for 6600V
<Accident sequence>
0800 Commenced replacement of the HIMAP for the No. 2 turbine generator
fitted in the MSB.
0820 Transferred entire electric load from the No. 2 turbine generator to
the No. 1 turbine generator and then disconnected the No.2 turbine
generator.
0836 An alarm sounded for the No. 1 main bus-tie breaker earth fault.
Immediately after the alarm, the alarm for the No. 2 main bus-tie
breaker earth fault also sounded.
0837 The No. 1 turbine generator was automatically disconnected, causing

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1022
1345
1359

a blackout. The standby diesel generator automatically started, and

electric power was restored to both the 6600V high voltage (HV)
switchboards. However, electric power was not restored to the
No. 1 440V low voltage (LV) switchboard because the root ACB(TM1)
of the switchboard was open. The cold start boiler feed pump was not
able to start because there was no power from the No. 1 440 LV
switchboard. Worse, the main boiler was not able to recover due to a
malfunction of the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for the boiler.
The ACB (TM1) for the No. 1 440V LV switchboard was manually closed
and electric power was restored.
Both boilers were steamed up using emergency electric power instead
of the damaged UPS, and preparation work for the main turbine
operation was completed.
Maneuvering operation resumed.

2. Blackout sequence (see attached Fig. 2)

(1) During replacement of the HIMAP, a live wire (terminal no. 18) accidentally
made contact with an adjacent connection (terminal no. 15).
(2) The above momentary event would have caused a short circuit and the
circuit breaker (MCB-252) to trip.
(3) There is a transducer that monitors the voltage and frequency downstream
from MCB-252. It detected an abnormal condition.
(4) The No. 1 turbine generator was disconnected because of the No. 2 HV MSB
low voltage and frequency alarm, thus causing the blackout.
3. Cause of extended unrestored condition for No. 1 440V LV
switchboard (see attached Fig. 1)
The latch relay for the ACB of the No. 1 440V LV switchboard was not set
in the "latch" position. Therefore, the ACB would not close automatically.
Moreover, much time was required to determine that the ACB was in an open
position.
Normal setting
>>> Latch position
Setting prior to the blackout incident >>> Unlatch position
The "unlatch" position of the latch relay is a safety device used during
maintenance work. If the latch relay is set to the "unlatch" position,
the ACB will not close automatically. The latch relay might have been set to
the "unlatch" position when the previous inspection was conducted
by the service engineer.

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Fig. 1

BUS-TIE

Latch relay for ACB

BUS-TIE

GPT: Ground Potential Transformer

Fig. 2