As Iona is now proudly part of our P&O Cruises fleet you may be wondering what’s been happening on board – well, here’s a little look behind the scenes…
Iona’s first bunkering
Exactly five weeks after Captain Robert Camby and his crew had taken delivery of Iona, the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly ship in our fleet to date, it was time to carry out the first LNG bunkering operation. For those who don’t know, bunkering is the supplying of fuel to a ship, and includes the shipboard logistics of loading fuel and distributing it among available bunker tanks.
On 13 November Pioneer Knutsen, one of the smallest LNG bunker vessels in the world, which services the Norwegian coastline, made her approach alongside Iona in Haugesund (Norway). The Pioneer Knutsen had to position itself perfectly between the overhanging lifeboats with the assistance of the Bridge and Deck teams.
Once the bunker vessel was attached alongside, it was time for Chief Engineer Robert Long, LNG Engineer Alastair Smith, and the rest of Iona’s Maritime team, to carry out the necessary checklists, preparations and testing of the Emergency Shutdown Systems (ESD) before starting the liquid transfer operation. Iona bunkered twice, over a 48hr period, to take a total of 2060m3 (900t) with one single operation taking 11 hours from start to finish. The ship’s crew then repeated the operation again, through the night once the Pioneer Knutsen had been to reload with LNG, before sailing from Haugesund to Skagen.
A new 4-Watch system
On the left you’ll see the Iona Watch keeping team that run the newly adopted 4-Watch system onboard.
The Engine Control Room is manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The 24 hours are split into four equal segments to form four watches. Traditionally, many of our ships have 3 watches.
Under the new 4-Watch system, the Watch keepers complete a mixture of day work engineering and Watch keeping, in every 24 hour period. It’s proving to be a real success given Iona is only a few weeks old. It adds a good level of flexibility and knowledge across the whole team.
The background in the photo, shows the Engine Control Room ‘video wall’. The wall can be changed by the Watch Keepers, to show any important system, including the LNG plant or CCTV, among a few. It allows a much greater level of situational awareness. The Engine Control Room is one of the first, to follow the Corporate approved design for XL Vessels like Iona.
Iona is also, in all probability, the first ship in the CUK and P&O Cruises fleet to have Engineers being in charge of all four Watches, originating from India. With Ash Puri (1EO-ERM) leading from the front, he also has Jan, Gaurav and Shankar, in charge of the other three watches.
Make sure you keep checking back as we bring you more exciting news of our biggest new ship – you can also find anything you may have missed here.