ELECTRIC AUXILIARIES ON MERCHANT SHIPS. 



By Edgar D. Dickinson, Esq., Member. 



[Read at the twenty-ninth general meeting of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, held 



in New York, November 17 and 18, 1921.] 



When we discuss the merchant marine, or any feature thereof, we must not lose sight of 

 the fact that we are dealing with a commercial undertaking which is probably more highly 

 competitive than any other. From its very nature this must be the case, for while each 

 country can make laws to assist the merchant shipowners of that country, every effort to help 

 them and penalize foreign shipping can and undoubtedly will be neutralized by laws of the 

 countries with which they are trading. The only assistance, therefore, that can be given by 

 legislation, outside of providing good port facilities, is to enact laws that will assure a good 

 standard for ships and at the same time not impose penalties in operation to which owners of 

 other countries are not subject. 



So we see that the answer to the question : "Who is to carry the merchandise which has 

 to be transported between the various ports of the world ?" rests in a great measure with the 

 owners and operators of ships, and, because electricity makes possible many reductions in 

 the cost of operation and at the same time enhances the earning power of a ship, it is being 

 used to an ever-increasing extent for driving the machinery on ships. 



On highly efficient new ships, especially motor ships, practically all the auxiliaries are 

 driven by electric motors. In the motor ship the steam boiler becomes an auxiliary, and it 

 is apparent that much of the gain in economy secured by the oil engine would be sacrificed if 

 steam auxiliary machinery were retained. In the steamship, the losses incident to the steam 

 auxiliaries are not so apparent; nevertheless, they are there, a constant drain on the boilers 

 and a continual handicap to any operator or engineer endeavoring to attain efficiency in 

 operation. 



It is recognized that a somewhat greater gain in fuel economy is generally secured on 

 a motor ship by the adoption of electricity for the reason that Diesel engines are employed 

 to drive the generators. Oil engines might be used on steamships with a resultant reduction 

 of fuel required for all purposes. However, there are certain good operating reasons why 

 such an arrangement is not generally popular. It would be necessary to have an engineer- 

 ing force competent to operate and maintain the oil engine. As the pumps essential to the 

 operation of the ship's main engine would be driven electrically, any interruption of the aux- 

 iliary oil engine might seriously interfere with the operation of the ship. Fuel oil would 

 have to be suitable for the Diesel engine, and in some cases this might necessitate carrying 

 two kinds of fuel oil on board with the incidental disadvantages. Duplicate equipments for 

 heating, storing and filtering fuel oil would have to be installed. On a steamship, therefore, 

 the most generally accepted practice is to install turbine-driven generator sets for auxiliary 

 power. 



At this particular time, with the ships of the world tied up owing to lack of cargo, with 

 other countries bending every effort to improve their merchant fleet, and with all men in 

 this country who have the interests of our merchant marine at heart endeavoring to see into 



