PART TWO OF FOUR:
By Jeff Fleming | 12V Marine LLC
Editor’s note: Based in Oriental, the father/son team of Jeff & Colyn Fleming (with 12V Marine) spent most of January on board the world’s largest and newest cruise ship. The Flemings were charged with solving a variety of electrical problems in a very short time-frame – just days before the massive vessel left Puerto Rico on its maiden voyage.
ICON OF THE SEAS – Siim and Martin were electricians from Estonia hired by the shipbuilder to help wire Icon of the Seas at the shipyard. However, their contract ended in six days. Colyn and I were tasked to finish their project, chasing something called “ground leaks,” when electricity is flowing through the ground or bonding wires. Possible causes include a faulty circuit board, mis-wired devices, or exposed/nicked wires. It was amusing to see the expression when we told an inquisitive passerby that we were fixing leaks.
Colyn (my son) looks young, whereas I am older – which was met with great suspicion of our skills and experience. As mentioned previously, we were there for low voltage stuff, but when Siim showed us the first panel, Colyn’s eyes popped wide open!! We were looking at 680 volt 3-phase alternating current. Oh boy!? My background is in industrial electronics, machining, robotics, and networks so I was very comfortable with high voltage. Colyn knows a lot about 110/220 but 680 volts was not on the itinerary. We were very glad we over-packed our tools.
Colyn adapted fast while Martin and Siim quickly realized we could be trusted with the Icon to which they had become quite attached. Our work style is casual, we like to joke around, “gracefully” acknowledge the occasional mistake, and frequently remind the other person of their oversights. As we started poking fun at each other (with Siim and Martin joining in) we quickly melded into a very efficient team. Royal Caribbean’s electrical engineers also gained full confidence in us and seemed to find excuses to come “help us” when really, they just wanted a good laugh as our casual but professional demeanor was a needed break from the pressure coming from the shipyard and Royal Caribbean.
The ship is divided into 7 different fire zones. Each zone has several electrical trunks run vertically from the power station in the hull to the top deck. Each deck has branches from the trunks run to panels all over the ship with different purposes like lighting boards, Galley power boards, Cabin boards, and so on. The engineers would provide us a spreadsheet of the leaks detected at the various trunks leaving in the control room. It was our responsibility to find the trunk on the correct deck and fire zone; identify which branch feed wire was the culprit; find the panel that the feed wire went to; and so on. Easy, right? Well no, because the ship was built so quickly and so many designers, engineers, and tradespeople from dozens of companies, countries, and ports were involved, there were thousands of prints and schematics and many of the on-site changes were not yet updated on the prints, so we couldn’t rely on the documentation and these panels were EVERYWHERE!
In the women’s restroom, in a galley or dining area, a secured locked room, or even in the ceiling on the deck directly below you. You would be opening dozens of unmarked doors like a very disappointing game of “Let’s Make A Deal” hoping the panel you are looking for is behind it. Now, once you find the panel that you’ve been hunting for (longer than you’d like to admit), you sort through the myriad of wires and breakers and control systems in the panel to find the culprit. Did I mention how much fun we were having? It was the four of us working in pairs, but frequently we would be called in for backup, to which we had to call for backup, and as did the next group. Before you know it, we had 12 or more electricians wandering around or looking at the same panel or circuit, each one more confused than the next – just trying to find a ground leak.
Everything on the ship was working and safe. They could have boarded passengers at any time and as the ship was taken on sea trials, they did start boarding some media, travel agents, and company management for short 3-day cruises. Our task was more preventive – ensuring the generator loads were equalized and minimizing electrolysis – which deteriorates anything made of metal that is in contact with the water. We were also there for the initial stress tests of the vessel, on standby in case anything were to break. We were working a lot and I’m not a young sailor so I usually tried to relax in the evening, but Colyn was frequently getting calls from several of the crew for “meetings” at the contractor’s bar. Yes, there was a specific bar designated for all contractors, and with discounted prices.
The last evening on the ship for Siim and Martin was especially eventful, although kind of foggy. Using the basketball court on Deck 18, it turns out Colyn sucks at football (soccer), especially against a 6’ 3” guy from Estonia. Siim may have been 20 years older, but literally ran Colyn into the ground (see photo). Nobody likes to walk away from an incomplete project, but Martin and Siim were very happy it was the two of us us who were finishing up for them. They did such a great job that the leaks we were left to chase were so small that they were getting much harder to find.
Next week, I’ll share some of the more memorable repairs we came across.
In Oriental, the Flemings can be reached at (252) 251-2900. Email: 12voltmarine@gmail.com
