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In maritime transportation, the engine department or engineering department is an organizational unit aboard a ship that is responsible for the operating the propulsion systems and the support systems for crew, passengers and cargo. This work is carried out by marine engineering officers who usually train via cadet ships sponsored by a variety of maritime organizations. Other shipboard departments typically include the deck department and the steward's department.
Marine engineering officers are responsible for propulsion and other systems such as: electrical power generation plant; lighting; fuel oil; lubrication; water distillation and separation; air conditioning; refrigeration; and water systems on board the vessel. They require knowledge and hands-on experience with electrical power, electronics, pneumatics, hydraulics, chemistry, steam generation, gas turbines and even nuclear technology on certain military vessels.
Marine engineer officers emerged with the arrival of marine engines for propulsion, largely during the latter half of the 19th century. Early marine engineers were known as "stokers" as they 'stoked' the coal fires of steam engined ships more or less from the middle of the 19th to the middle of the 20th centuries; the term is still used affectionately by modern ship's engineering staff to describe their role.
The oldest surviving marine engine was designed by William Symington in 1788. The ship 'Turbinia' first demonstrated the superiority of the steam-turbine engine, which is still used for marine propulsion today in some niche applications. In America, the University of Michigan's Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering can be tracked to an 1879 act of Congress, which authorized the U.S. Navy to assign a few officers to engineering training establishments around the country. Mortimer E. Cooley was the first lecturer in the department.
See also
- Engine room
- List of maritime colleges
- Marine fuel management
- Seafarer's professions and ranks
- Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
References
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