monitor Doug Woodyard A
Saluting a Selandia centenary
tragic symmetry in early 1912 saw the sinking of the Titanic – and symbolically the passing of coal firing and steam reciprocating engines – and the entry into service of the world’s first oceangoing motor ship, signalling the arrival of a new force in marine propulsion. Selandia was built by the Burmeister & Wain yard in Copenhagen for the East Asiatic Co of Denmark and, after trials in February 1912, successfully completed a 20,000-mile round voyage between the Danish capital and the Far East. The significance of the diesel propulsion plant was evidently well appreciated at the time. On the first arrival in London, the ship was inspected by Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty; and Fionia, a sistership delivered four months later by the same yard, so impressed the German Emperor that it was immediately arranged for the Hamburg Amerika Line to buy the vessel. A third vessel in the series, Jutlandia, was built by
Barclay, Curle in Scotland and handed over to East Asiatic in May 1912.
The twin-screw 7,400 dwt cargo/passenger ship class was powered by two Burmeister & Wain eight-cylinder four-stroke engines (530mm-bore/730mm-stroke), each developing around 743kW at 140 rpm. A valuable facility was an effective and reliable direct-reversing system. Selandia operated successfully for almost 30 years (latterly as Norseman), maintaining throughout a fully loaded service speed of 10.5 knots before being lost off Japan in 1942.
he propulsion plant of the second Selandia, which entered service in 1938, exploited the significant advances made in diesel technology in the intervening years. The single five-cylinder, double-acting two-stroke engine of the 8,300 dwt ship delivered 5,370kW at 120 rpm: three times the output of the twin-engine installation powering the predecessor. The performance of Selandia and other early motor ships encouraged East Asiatic to switch completely from steamships, an example followed by more and more progressive owners. In 1914 there were less than 300 diesel-powered vessels in service with an aggregate
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tonnage of 235,000gt; a decade later, the motor fleet had grown to some 2,000 ships totalling almost two million gt; and by 1940 that had risen to 18 million gt from 8,000 ships.
Diesel dominance was underlined by 1939 when an estimated 60 per cent of the total tonnage completed in world yards were motor ships, compared with only four per cent in 1920. Since the first Selandia the marine diesel engine has matured to offer reliable propulsion and auxiliary drive solutions from high speed, medium speed and low speed designs in two-stroke and four-stroke configurations. Engines have evolved to burn low grade heavy fuel oils as well as environmentally friendly natural gas and biofuels, while advances in fuel injection and turbocharging have contributed to higher power ratings, improved economy and lower emissions.
A
fter more than a century in inland, coastal and deepsea traffic the marine diesel engine shows no signs of surrendering its dominance. Another century could well be secured for diesel propulsion through integration with fuel cells and solar panels in hybrid systems to deliver power with even higher efficiency and lower emissions. The impending centenary on 14 April of the Titanic disaster spawned even more books on the ship, its maiden voyage and sinking in the icy North Atlantic, adding to a pile of around 1,000 already published on the event.
Many books have focused on the sinking and rescue efforts, the shipowner, builder, passengers and crew but particularly interesting for marine engineers is one of the latest releases, RMS Titanic: Owners’ Workshop Manual, from UK-based Haynes Publishing (
www.haynes.co.uk). Full details of the propulsion and auxiliary machinery and its construction are supported by numerous drawings and illustrations. Titanic’s life was tragically short lived but sistership
Olympic – launched slightly earlier – steamed on to serve the White Star Line until 1935. A reputation for ramming was earned, however, first involving the cruiser HMS Hawke in 1911, a German submarine in 1918 and the Nantucket lightship in 1934, all hands of which were drowned. MP
Marine Propulsion I February/March 2012 I 5
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