RSV 421 Chief Engineer: "Power Transmission Is Circulatory System that Sets in Motion Generators at Ship's Heart"

"If the main diesel generators are the heart of the ship, the power transmission is its circulatory system," Lieutenant Commander Stoil Popov, Chief Engineer Officer of the Bulgarian naval research/survey vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (NAVAL RSV 421), told BTA.

"This system provides the power supply that sets the machinery into motion. If it is in working order, the ship is underway, and we can thus carry out the assignments set to us,"  LCDR Popov said.

The Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii is an electrically driven motorship. It has three main diesel generators, each combining a diesel internal combustion engine with an electric generator. 

"When I was offered to join the RSV 421 crew on its mission to Antarctica, I saw a chance of breaking out of my previous routine. I decided to be part of this initiative as I believed that I would be able to help, to make new friends and advance professionally," the Chief Engineer pointed out.

There is no such thing as a routine watch in the ship's engine room, the lieutenant commander explains. "We follow an hourly plan and schedule, but various situations emerge when some gear requires maintenance. Then my colleagues and I re-prioritize our tasks. At such point, making routine entries in the engine-room log-book is shelved. We leave somebody to follow the parameters of the rest of the gear, while two men, including an electrician, handle the situation. In some cases a problem needs to be addressed, so we can continue our service and hand over all gear in a good condition to the next watch," the naval officer says. 

The equipment is monitored partly from the conn, but other gear require on-site checking because they are not remotely controlled.

Some of their gauges also need to be checked by engineers on the spot, they take down the readings, inspect the devices, and sometimes have to prepare replacement gear.

"The colleagues in this trade are fully aware of the challenges facing a marine engineer. They have to deal with all sorts of different systems installed or updated in different ways and having different parameters. It's common knowledge how things happen: you first get trained, then you go through apprenticeship and build up experience and browse papers, and you are finally able to apply it all in real-life situations. Teamwork, camaraderie, experience and logic help us cope and keep the equipment going," the Chief Engineer adds.

BTA's Daily News editor Konstantin Karagyozov is the only member of the media who is traveling on board the ship to Livingston Island and back and will cover the Bulgarian expedition on site throughout the stay in Antarctica.

All media outlets can use the Bulgaria-Antarctica BTA's Log for free.