They don’t sit still for long, they go around and around in circles. Why? Emptying the pooh tank?
They have been here for a few months now.presumably that is out of the way of prevailing westerlies and southerlies ?
wonder what kind of anchor they use
These things don't have generators - they have power stations! - big enough to power a small city.??? Bruce can these monsters have shore power???
I expect that they have a dozen generators and they run them according to loads.
So on hook, I'd expect they run a few and get on with life.
Obvs no idea how quickly the main engines can be functional.
I guess their pods (they all have pods no?) are NOT electric as that would be a moot point in terms of difficulty in returning back to operation
??? Bruce can these monsters have shore power???
I expect that they have a dozen generators and they run them according to loads.
So on hook, I'd expect they run a few and get on with life.
Obvs no idea how quickly the main engines can be functional.
I guess their pods (they all have pods no?) are NOT electric as that would be a moot point in terms of difficulty in returning back to operation
I accept that but watching these beasts daily, it is clear that about once a week, each one goes off for about a 50 to 80 mile run.Vas, currently probably not for that size vessel, however haze and pollution in port city's from ships has always been an issue
more here
British Ports Calls for Initiative to Advance Shore Power For Ships
As for engines they take a significant sequence of steps to fire up and it's certainly not quick. I worked on a small 6000 ton ship and the procedure took nearly a 8 hour shift. But with cruiseliners it's far more complex. All the pipework for water etc to cabins etc need re-pressurizing, air con needs to be maintained to prevent condensation that would ruin furnishings etc. Just the task of linen / laundary / refrigeration etc is on an epic scale. You mention generators and yes they have a few but these in themselves take time to start and stop with a gradual reduction in load until you can actually throw the switched circuit breaker. Powering them on is an even bigger job requiring auxiliary generators before you can start the startup sequence.
I wonder whether the weekly movements are to prevent fouling and subsequent increased fuel costs?
Normally these ships are continually moving so that barnacles have no chance to cling on, but when laid up they will quickly become fouled.
Judging by the way they are lit up at night (we can see them from our windows too, as we live just below Hurricane) they must be burning a lot of fuel with the generators.Warm layup. Shutting down the engines while on the hook and not having shore power means shutting down services. On cruise ships this is a massive undertaking and can be more expensive than fuel burn especially in light of uncertainties w.r.t. how quickly they can return to operation.