The Unmanned Machinery Space (UMS) has become the standard configuration for modern merchant vessels, enabling the ship to operate at sea without requiring engineers to stand continuous watch in the engine room. Achieving this capability relies on a rigorous monitoring, alarm, and control system. During the commissioning phase, Jiangsu Haizhongzhou Shipping Industry Co., Ltd. simulates thousands of fault scenarios to verify the reliability of this "electronic brain."
Step 1: Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT)
For critical equipment such as the main switchboard, engine control room console, and main engine remote control system, our personnel travel to the manufacturer's facility to conduct the Factory Acceptance Test. This is far more than a simple power-on check. We input our detailed alarm point list point by point, simulating sensor disconnection, short circuits, and out-of-range signals. We meticulously monitor the software logic response time to ensure that every fault condition is correctly recognized and logged at the hardware level.
Step 2: Simulated Voyage Under Quayside Conditions
While berthed alongside the quay, the main engine cannot be run at full capacity; however, this does not prevent us from testing the control program logic. We switch the main engine remote control system to Simulation Mode. When the telegraph handle is operated on the bridge or in the Engine Control Room (ECR), the system issues commands to a virtual main engine according to the pre-programmed acceleration and deceleration curves. Meanwhile, our technicians monitor the physical movements of the actuators (such as the fuel rack linkage) at the engine side to ensure they perfectly match the simulated program curve. Furthermore, we artificially induce alarm signals such as "Low Lube Oil Pressure" and "High Jacket Cooling Water Temperature" to verify that the system correctly issues automatic slowdown or automatic shutdown commands.
Step 3: Mandatory Testing of Extension Alarms and Engineer Call Systems
In UMS mode, all alarms must be transmitted to both the navigation bridge and the engineers' accommodation quarters. We conduct a room-by-room verification of the extension alarm panels in the cabins of the Chief Engineer, Second Engineer, and Third Engineer. If an alarm is not acknowledged within a pre-set timeframe (e.g., 3 minutes), the system must automatically trigger the General Alarm throughout the vessel and seamlessly transfer the duty call to the next designated engineer's cabin. This seemingly meticulous logic serves as the final line of safety defense, ensuring that no critical fault goes unnoticed.
Step 4: Manual Emergency Testing of Safety Systems
For hardwired safety circuits—such as fuel oil quick-closing valves, emergency stops for fans, and fuel pumps—we do not rely on software triggers. Instead, we verify their isolation function by physically pressing the local emergency stop button. This rigorous approach guarantees that even in the most extreme scenarios, such as a total vessel blackout or a PLC system failure, the engineering crew retains the ability to manually isolate hazards and secure the machinery space.