Engine Room Procedures
It is within the Chief Engineers responsibility to take all measures necessary for a safe working
environment in the machinery spaces.
Regular safety inspections of all lifesaving appliances (LSA) and firefighting equipment (FFE) in
the engine room are to be arranged in line with the vessel's Safety Officer or another person
assigned by the Master. The responsibilities must be clearly defined and documented in the.
Engine Logbook and Deck Logbook.
The Chief Engineer is responsible for issuing his own specific “Standing Orders” which are to
be signed by him and all crew normally working in the engine room department.
Additional special instructions ordered by the Chief Engineer are to be written in a separate
"Watch or Night Order Book". Same are to be countersigned by those concerned.
Engine Room Watch
Should a continuous or temporary engine room watch become necessary following instructions are to be observed:
personal capabilities and prevailing navigational conditions
which may be defined by the CE in his standing orders
the Navigational Watch Officer respectively the Master
Taking over the Watch – Engine Room (if applicable)
fully capable of performing their duties before accepting responsibility for the watch
that effect in the engine logbook
Logbook Keeping – Engine Room
The company requires the following logbooks are to be kept in the Engine room
Standards on how these logbooks are to be maintained are laid out in SOLAS and STCW `78 as
amended of which relevant sections are cited in the front of the engine logbook. Special attention should always be given on entries with relevance to the safety status of the vessel.
All maintenance, dismounting and repairs of critical equipment shall be documented in the Logbook.
Departure and Arrival Checks – Engine
All engine and critical equipment are to be maintained and calibrated according to the respective makers instruction and/or international and flag state regulations. The main engine and
auxiliary equipment are to be checked before port arrival or departure.
As far as possible all checks shall be carried out in the required time interval due to short port
stay or similar, the checks shall be carried out as soon as possible prior departure / arrival. No
vessel shall sail without proper testing of the function of all equipment mentioned on the Arrival / Departure Checklist.
An entry that checks are carried out accordingly and function is granted shall be made in the Logbook.
Tank Sounding /Sounding Logbook
It is used to keep a written record of soundings of all the engine room tanks including wastewater tank, fuel oil and diesel oil service settling and bunker tanks. The Logbook is the only
accepted documentation. A responsible person assigned by the CE will take and record sounding for all the tanks. Frequency of sounding is normally twice a day – once in the morning and
second in the evening. Record of sounding is acknowledged by the engineer officer taking the
sounding.
Every day sounding log is counter checked and acknowledged with signature by the Chief Engineer and the PIC.