This will be my final post that contain the words Marine Propulsion (I promise). Since I've been sitting in class listening to a lot about marine propulsion - as well as all the auxiliary systems required to keep the ship moving, lit and livable - it has made me realize that how truly impressive it is. By impressive I mean several things: a) how far technology has come in a relatively short amount of time - by that I mean the level of automation and b) although, automation has changed the name of the game the principal concepts of things like heat transfer, combustion and propulsion were being pondered by greats like Da Vinci.

I'm also impressed by the sheer magnitude of some of the vessels that are plying the worlds oceans. To illustrate exactly what I mean by 'sheer magnitude' let me tell you about the Emma Maersk. This is the largest container ship every made. I'm going to compare her to my own ship so that you can see how she dwarfs a product tanker (to keep thinks on the down low I'm going to name my ship Mi Barco).

The Emma Maersk is 1300 ft long - Mi Barco is 602 ft.

The Emma Maersk is 207 ft wide - Mi Barco is 108 ft wide.

The Emma Maersk can do 25 knots - Mi Barco seldom does better than 12-13 knots.

The Emma Maersk is 170,974 gross tons - Mi Barco is 28,500 gross tons.

The Emma Maersk has a 109,000 horse power engine - Mi Barco has an 18,500 horse power engine!

The Emma Maersk can carry almost 15,000 containers!

The Emma Maersk has a Dead Weight Tonnage of 156,907 - Mi Barco is 47,100 DWT.

Here is when things get crazy - this goes back to the technology and automation thing - The Emma Maersk has a crew of 13 and Mi Barco has a crew of 20!!!!

Googling Emma Maersk will provide you a plethora of photos and articles but for information on her engine this is hands down the best site.

photo source