ENGINE ROOM CRANE; Function and safety

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A ship is a huge floating structure which is propelled with the help of a main engine, along with several other machinery and systems inside the engine room which require proper operation and continuous maintenance. Maintenance and repair of engine room machinery requires moving of heavy parts from one place to another. As individual parts of main engine and machinery of ship weighs in tonnes, engine room crane operation and safety plays a major contribution for the continuous operation of the ship. In this article we will learn about one such equipment which helps immensely in this process – the engine room crane.
The merchant vessels are fitted with engine room cranes mainly as per the main engine specification. This is done so that the crane can lift all the individual parts of the engine during routine maintenance. Normally, the capacity range for these cranes is from o.5 to 15 tonnes.
Sometimes two cranes are fitted in an engine room, where in space and reach is a problem, to simplify the lifting operation. One crane with two hoists is also commonly fitted onboard.
The engine room crane consists of a motor coupled with wire drum so that the motor can lift or lower the crane hoist by winding or unwinding the wire over the drum. The whole system is then fitted in a trolley.
Two pathways are built with a rack and pinion arrangement, both in transverse and longitudinal direction of the engine room and over the main engine, where the trolley is placed so that the whole unit can move fore-aft and port starboard.
A remote is provided so that the crane can be operated from any position, thus allowing the user to keep a safe distance from the lifted load. It is the duty of the responsible engineer onboard to operate the crane and to have regular checks on the safety and working of the crane. Second engineer is responsible for operation, maintenance and safety checks of the engine room crane.