Blackout while manoeuvring with the emergency generator failing to start

1. Communicate first: call the bridge and state “blackout, no propulsion, no steering”. The bridge must know immediately so it can reduce speed, use tugs, anchor or warn traffic; ask for the emergency steering position to be manned.
2. Confirm the blackout: main switchboard dead, main engine tripped, steering gear stopped. Do not try to restart the main engine yet.
3. Go to the emergency generator. The start failure is almost certainly low starting air from the leaking non-return valve. Try a manual start, then use the emergency air bottle or hand pump if fitted; check fuel, lube oil level and cooling water. If a battery-start backup exists, use it.
4. Once the emergency generator runs, close its breaker to the emergency switchboard and confirm steering gear (one pump), emergency lighting, navigation lights, VHF/GMDSS and gyro.
5. Check for fire, smoke, fuel or lube oil leaks and for anyone injured. Keep the ECR manned; ask the chief engineer to return or send the electrician.

Reasoning: the immediate danger is grounding or collision in a narrow channel with no steering, so the bridge must be told before technical troubleshooting begins.

The emergency generator is air-start; the receiver is at 1.2 MPa against a normal 3.0 MPa. The leaking non-return valve has depleted the only stored starting energy, so the auto-start sequence could not turn the engine. This is a single-point failure of a safety-critical system and should have been found by routine checks.

Restoration:

• Isolate the leaking non-return valve and, if possible, use the backup air bottle or hand pump to charge the receiver to starting pressure.
• Attempt the start; if it does not fire, check fuel valve line-up, fuel oil level, lube oil level and cooling water, and any control mode/auto-manual selector.
• Check that the emergency generator breaker closes to the emergency switchboard, not the main switchboard.
• Before loading, check voltage and frequency are stable, lube oil pressure is normal, and cooling water flow is established.
• Load in steps and watch for overload; the emergency generator is typically sized only for emergency loads, so do not add the bow thruster or large auxiliaries.

Afterwards, raise a defect report, replace/repair the non-return valve and test the auto-start function. The failure to start on load is a reportable defect under the SMS.

With emergency power available, restore in this order: steering gear (one pump), navigation lights, VHF/GMDSS, gyro, emergency lighting, fire pump, bilge pump, then the main generator.

Main generator restoration:

• Start the standby auxiliary generator using the same air supply, checking start air pressure first.
• Run it on load, check voltage/frequency, then close the main switchboard breaker.
• Start auxiliaries sequentially with about 30 seconds between them: lube oil pump, cooling water pumps, fuel booster, then the main engine services.
• Restart the main engine only when steering, lube oil pressure and all interlocks are normal; inform the bridge before answering the telegraph.
• Bring the second generator online or shed non-essential loads before restarting the bow thruster; 890 kW of 1,050 kW was already 85 % loaded, so the thruster start was unsurvivable without a second generator or load shedding.

Communication: keep the bridge informed at each stage, advise the port authority if required, and record times, load figures, trip indications and actions in the engine log and bell book. After the incident, preserve alarms and relevant data for investigation.