Fourth Engineer interview questions

The Fourth Engineer is an operational-level officer who keeps an engineering watch and looks after a set of auxiliary machinery under the direction of the Second Engineer. The exact split depends on the company, but on my last vessel my responsibilities were:

• Watchkeeping in the engine room, or duty engineer on a UMS ship: rounds, readings, alarms and the engine logbook.
• Purifiers for fuel and lube oil: daily checks, cleaning and overhauls by the planned maintenance system.
• Fuel and lube oil transfers, daily soundings and reporting consumption figures to the Second Engineer.
• Air compressors and other auxiliaries assigned to me, with records in the PMS.
• Assisting with main engine and generator overhauls, and helping during bunkering.

I also see the Fourth Engineer as the person who should know every pipeline in the engine room, because that is how you learn to become a good Third Engineer.

Before switching to UMS I follow the company checklist. My routine is:

1. Alarms: all alarms acknowledged and cleared, alarm system tested and the duty engineer's cabin and bridge panels working.
2. Levels and tanks: service and settling tanks topped up, sludge and bilge levels low, no tank close to its alarm level overnight.
3. Machinery: running equipment in normal parameters, standby units on automatic start, no leaks from fuel, lube oil or cooling water systems.
4. Fire safety: no oily rags, open containers or hot work left; fire doors closed; quick-closing valves free.
5. Communication: inform the bridge, confirm who is the duty engineer and that the dead-man alarm is set.

If anything is doubtful, I stay in the engine room and call the Second Engineer. Leaving a problem for the night is how small leaks become fires.

Overflow through the heavy-phase outlet means the water seal is lost and oil is going to sludge. First I stop the oil feed so we do not lose fuel or flood the sludge tank, then I find the cause. The usual causes I check:

• No or insufficient seal water at start-up.
• Throughput too high for the fuel and the bowl.
• Separating temperature outside the setting, so the density and viscosity are wrong.
• Wrong gravity disc for the fuel density. I check the disc against the manufacturer's chart, especially after bunkering a new fuel.
• Bowl not closing properly, for example because of a worn seal ring or dirty operating water system.

After correcting the cause, I restart with seal water, bring the oil in slowly and watch the outlets. I record what happened and, if it was mechanical, open the bowl at the next opportunity.

Bunkering is one of the highest-risk operations for pollution, so the role is about preparation and attention. Under the Chief Engineer's bunker plan, my usual tasks are:

• Before: sound all receiving tanks, calculate the space available, set the valves and have them double-checked; make sure scuppers are plugged, drip trays empty and the SOPEP equipment ready at the manifold.
• During: keep communication with the barge or terminal, start at a low rate, check that fuel is going into the right tank, and take frequent soundings as tanks approach the planned filling level.
• Sample: make sure the MARPOL sample is taken continuously at the ship's manifold during the transfer.
• After: final soundings, calculations with temperature correction, and help the Chief Engineer compare figures with the bunker delivery note.

If I see a leak, an overflow risk or a communication failure, I stop the transfer immediately. Stopping costs minutes; a spill costs much more.

I refuse. Discharging oily water without the oily water separator and the oil content meter is a violation of MARPOL Annex I, and the Oil Record Book must show every discharge accurately. Engineers have been arrested, fined and jailed for this, and the company can lose its reputation with every port state.

I would explain calmly why I will not do it, and report it to the Chief Engineer. If the request came from the Chief Engineer himself, I would use the company's reporting system to the Designated Person Ashore. If the bilge tank is close to full, there are legal options: process it through the OWS, transfer it to a holding tank or discharge it to a shore reception facility in the next port.

I also think prevention matters: finding and fixing the leaks that fill the bilges in the first place.