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Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Moni Islam News

01 May 2013

Dead in the Water

The world watched as the Carnival Triumph sat still, dead in the water in the Gulf of Mexico after a main space fire caused a total loss of electrical power. For the 3,143 passengers and 1,000-plus crewmembers, there was no heat or air conditioning, toilets or sanitation, lights or  ventilation. Fortunately, despite the seriousness of the fire, which was caused by a leaking fuel line, nobody was hurt. We waited and watched for several days for tugs to arrive on the scene and begin the slow process of pulling the 893-foot ship to port to let her passengers debark and commence repairs.

16 Jul 2012

Catastrophic Equipment Failures of VFD and HF Systems

Commercial and military users of electric propulsion systems have experienced failures of the variable frequency drive (VFD) and harmonic filter (HF) systems because the system design, including the VFD, did not have adequate self-monitoring and protection. On a ship, a variable-frequency drive (VFD) can be used to control the speed and direction of rotational motors, such as pumps, propellers and azipod systems. In some cases, these failures have resulted in catastrophic equipment failures causing arcing, fire and explosions of capacitors. In September of 2010, the Cunard Carnival cruise ship RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2) was underway in the Mediterranean when an explosion occurred in the aft main switchboard room resulting from the failure of one of 12 capacitors in a harmonic filter…

30 Jan 2012

Engineers to Meet to Discuss Electric Installations on Ships

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) is updating the IEEE 45 standard for electrical installations on ships. This is a big undertaking because so much has changed with new power systems on ships, from the cruise industry to integrated electric propulsion systems on warships. “With new voltages, power distribution systems and casualty power arrangements, the standard really needs a refresh,” says Moni Islam, an electrical engineer who is chairing the IEEE committee reviewing and revising the standard. Islam is asking qualified electrical engineers, to include maritime experience if possible, to contact him. He is inviting any and all interested parties…

18 Jan 2012

Navy, IEEE Keep Electrical Ship Standard Current

It’s been a year since we first told you here in Maritime Reporter about the effort to update and rewrite the IEEE-45 Standard for Electrical Installations on Ships. At that time, we urged qualified experts to offer suggestions and volunteer to join in the effort as members of the committee. Thanks to those who agreed to support the committees work, a great deal of progress has been made, says Moni Islam, chair of the IEEE-45 Standard Coordinating Committee. However, he says, there is still important work to be done and volunteers are still needed, especially now that some of the work is coming to a conclusion. The IEEE-45 standard was first released in 1920.