Maritime Knowledge Base
Browse questions and answers across marine machinery, merchant navy careers, shipboard operations and maritime glossary terms.
Browse by Category
Marine Machinery
Troubleshooting guides for pumps, boilers, purifiers, compressors and auxiliary systems.
Merchant Navy Careers
Questions about joining the merchant navy, exams, cadetships, ranks and sea-time.
Maritime Glossary
Plain-English definitions of shipping, engine-room, navigation and regulatory terms.
Shipboard Operations
Practical Q&A for watchkeeping, safety, maintenance routines and onboard documentation.
Results for "Sludge"
Why is my fuel or oil purifier not separating properly?
The usual causes of poor purifier separation — feed rate, temperature, gravity disc and water seal, sludge and bowl condition — and how to work through them one at a time.
Marine MachineryHow does a marine incinerator work and what can it burn?
A marine incinerator burns the ship's waste oils, sludge and solid garbage in a combustion chamber, subject to MARPOL rules on what may be incinerated and where.
Shipboard OperationsWhat is crude oil washing (COW) on a tanker?
Crude oil washing cleans a tanker's cargo tanks during discharge by spraying them with the crude cargo itself, which dissolves clingage and reduces residue, sludge and pollution.
Shipboard OperationsWhat should be checked during engine-room watchkeeping rounds?
How to make an engine-room round count — comparing live readings against normal ranges and catching trends before they become failures.
Marine MachineryWhat causes a scavenge fire in a two-stroke marine engine?
A scavenge fire is the ignition of accumulated oil and carbon in the scavenge spaces of a two-stroke engine — here is why it happens and how to respond.
Marine MachineryWhy does the oily water separator 15 ppm bilge alarm keep activating?
The 15 ppm alarm on the oily water separator stops overboard discharge when the oil content is too high — the causes lie in the separator, the monitor or the feed.
Marine MachineryHow does a marine centrifugal oil purifier work?
A marine purifier cleans fuel and lubricating oil by spinning it at high speed so that water and solids separate out — here is the working principle.
Marine MachineryHow does a ship's sewage treatment plant work?
A marine sewage treatment plant breaks down the ship's sewage — usually biologically — and disinfects it so that the treated effluent meets MARPOL Annex IV discharge standards.
Marine MachineryHow does a marine heat exchanger work?
A heat exchanger transfers heat from one fluid to another through a dividing wall without letting them mix — used all over a ship to cool engines, oil and air.
Marine MachineryWhy is boiler water treated on a ship and how?
Boiler water is chemically treated and tested to prevent scale, corrosion and carryover, which would damage the boiler, reduce its efficiency and threaten safety.
