The engine room
Specialist engineers
Some ships also carry electrical engineers. Their
responsibilities include the generators and other electrical
equipment. Ships with refrigeration equipment, for instance
to carry frozen meat, would have one or more refrigeration
engineers. They would ensure that the refrigerated
compartments were well maintained and always at the right
temperature when working. These engineers had roughly the equivalent status as the deck
officers. They would also have served an
apprenticeship. This was often in an engineering works on
shore, although some companies had their own engineering cadets,
who would be trained in a real ship`s engine room.
Engineering officers studied and took their certificates, just like
deck officers. A marine engineer had to be prepared to do virtually any repair
to the engines. If a breakdown occurred in a port without
engineering facilities, or in the middle of the ocean, they had to
fall back on their own devices to mend the engines. There was
often urgency to do this, especially in bad weather if the ship was
in danger. Of course, rough weather would cause the ship to
roll, making it even harder to handle large pieces of
machinery.
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