Maintenance of the IG System

In order for the Inert Gas plant to be running satisfactorily there must be routine checks and overhauls
carried out of various parts of the system on the plant side as well as the distribution side and some of
these have been listed as follows.

The IG scrubber is one of the most important components and it should be regularly inspected for signs
of fouling, corrosion damage and any other damage. This inspection can be done through the manholes
provided for the purpose and the parts to be inspected should include nozzles, cooling pipes, floats,
sensors, demisters and so forth.

The inert gas blowers should be checked for similar signs of damage or soot deposit. Apart from this
visual inspection the blower should also be observed when actually running to observe any signs of
imbalance or abnormal vibration which could be due to loose parts.

The deck seal performs a vital role in the overall system and hence needs to be checked regularly for
corrosion, blockage and so forth.

Periodic checks should be carried out of the various alarms in order to find out whether they are
functioning at the correct level of parameters for which they are set. Similarly valves which are supposed
to open and close automatically or which are operable from a remote location should be verified to work
correctly as required.

Certain parts and sections of the IG system such as the scrubber effluent line can only be inspected
during periods of dry dock and hence every dry dock should be used to inspect these parts.

There are other components which are not directly a part of the IG system on board the ship but are
used for important functions such as the oxygen analyzers and gauges used to measure hydrocarbon
vapour levels. These instruments should be checked for their accuracy and calibrated so that they do not
give false readings which could really be dangerous in most cases.