Bilge Pumping Systems

General Locations
 Bilge Pumping Systems
There are three separate, but related Bilge Pumping Systems

1. Bilge Pump
and Manifold
2. External Bilge
Pump-Outs
3. Main Engine
Raw Water
Emergency
Bilge Pump-
Outs
 Bilge Pumping Systems
Most of these snapshots will focus on the Bilge
Pumping Systems and the General Locations of their
components.
We will discuss the Fire/General Service/Ballast
Pump Systems at another time.
Operation of the Bilge Pumping Systems will also be
described later.
 Bilge Pumping Systems
There are two pumps associated with the Bilge System that
may be used interchangeably or in parallel to:

Pump out bilges

Provide Fire Fighting
Water for fires on board
the fireboat
Ballasting Operations if
needed (highly unlikely)
Provide water for gross
HAZMAT
Decontamination
Shower
De-Water Off Ship
Firefighting Systems
 General Locations
Pumps, Discharge and Suction valves Pumps and Motors
located on skid port, aft engine room.
Valves and strainers are very accessible
Pumps are identical and may be configured to do the work
of the other, (redundancy) or work with the other
(increase flow or pressure)

Designated Fire/General
Service/Ballast Pump

Designated Bilge Pump

Discharge Valves
(There are four)
 General Locations

Bilge Pump and Fire/G.S./Ballast Pump Motor Controllers are located on starboard
side of Main Switchboard in Engine Room

Fire/GS/Ballast Pump Bilge Pump

 General Locations
You can also start the Fire/G.S./Ballast Pump Remotely from Port, Main
Deck Entry Fire Control Station

Note: Make sure your system valves are configured

properly for remote operation! More on this when
we cover operations.
 General Locations
You may also start the Fire/G.S./Ballast Pump Remotely from the Wheelhouse Fire
Control Station. It is on the Port Forward Bulkhead by the Engineers Forward
Console.

Note: Make sure your system valves are configured

properly for remote operation! More on this when
we cover operations.
 General Locations

Overboard Discharge Valve

Coming off the discharge
manifold of this system,
the branch line loops
overhead and runs to the
port side shell, just
forward of the Port
Generator.
This valve will normally be
shut!
 General Locations

Suction Valves and Basket Strainers

 General Locations

Normally Shut

Sea Chest Suction Block Valves

Just below skid, aft of
pumps

Normally Open
 General Locations

Sea Chest Valves

Directly below skid,
underneath the suction
distribution valves. Normally Open

There are two valves here:

A manual globe check
valve
Remote actuated
butterfly valve (This
valve allows remote
starting of the
Ballast/On-Ship Fire
Fighting/General
Service Pump
 General Locations
Here is a little different view of Sea Chest Valves
for this system.

Note:
Bilge,
Ballast/Fire/General
Service Pumps draw
water form the Shared
Firefighting Sea Chest.

Remote Actuated Sea Manual Sea Chest

Chest Valve Valve (Normally Open)
 General Locations
The Remote Sea Chest valve for the Bilge and Fire/G.S./Ballast systems
is operated from the remote switch on the Port Main Deck Entry Fire
Control Panel, or the Wheelhouse Fire Control Panel
 General Locations

Bilge Suction Manifold

Inboard side of skid
Allows you to choose which bilge
you are pumping out.
These valves will be labeled!
Branch lines run under floor plates
and distribute to the following
spaces:
Engine Room Starboard
Engine Room Port
Aft Machinery Space
VSP Room
Tank Void (Where the Potable,
Grey and Black Water Tanks are
located
Chain Locker
Starboard
Engine Room

Port Engine
Room

Aft
Machinery
Space

VSP Room
General Locations

Bilge Suction Manifold

Chain Locker

FWD Tank
Void
 General Locations

Bilge Suction Distribution Lines:

Each Bilge Suction Valve has a
branch line that runs under the
machinery space deck plates.
If it is taking suction from a space
outside the engine room, it may
have to penetrate several
bulkheads before reaching its
intended space.
It will terminate in the lowest
portion of the bilge space, and
have either a Rose Box, or Mud
Box terminus to prevent debris This one here is for the Aft Machinery
from getting sucked into the Space (Aft Hold):
Note how it comes through the bulkhead
distribution line.
from the adjacent Engine Room
See the Rose Box?
Note also the Bilge Level Alarm Sensor
(Looks familiar huh?)
 General Locations

Rose Box

A little better view of bilge suction in

Aft Machinery Room
 General Locations

Bilge Suction Distribution Lines

Here is an example of a Mud Box:

Essentially a serviceable, in-line

strainer basket.

Starboard Engine
Room Bilge

It drops down from the strainer body

to the bottom of the bilge and
terminates as an open pipe

VSP Room
 General Locations

Here is where the Bilge suction

would be under the floor plates in
port side of the VSP room, aft
bulkhead.
 General Locations

Bilge Level Sensors

Port Engine Room Bilge Suction.

Its actually just under and
outboard of the Bilge,
Ballast/G.S./Fire Pump skid
Still pretty messy down there!
 General Locations

External Bilge Pump-Out Suction

and Rose Box (Will discuss this
system in the near future)

E/R Bilge Level Sensor

Port Engine Room Bilge Pump Suction

 General Locations

Port E/R Bilge Suction Mud Box

Under deck plates at foot of Fire
Pump #2
 General Locations
Bilge Suctions related to the Tank Void

The Tank Void contains the Grey

Water, Black Water, and Fresh
Water Storage Tanks

Access to the Tank Void is from

the EMS Room through a deck
hatch.
(Technically a confined space so
follow your entry protocols!)
 General Locations

This is where the Tank Void

Bilge Suction comes out from
aft bulkhead and drops into
the Tank Void Bilge

Grey Water Tank

Tank Void Bilge Suction

(The finger is actually pointing at the Chain Locker Bilge Suction Branch Line)
 General Locations

This line loops around

from the aft bulkhead
penetration of the Tank
Void and come up to
penetrate the aft Chain
Locker bulkhead,
starboard of centerline

It has a Rose Box on the

other side of this
bulkhead.

Chain Locker Bilge Suction Branch Line

(There are two bolted access covers to chain locker: One
above the chain manger and one below)
 General Locations

You can open this valve located

directly aft, and under the Bilge
Pump skid to pump out the Engine
Room bilges.

It was put in place to keep the Bilge

Pump operational in the event the
Bilge Pump Strainer or Bilge
Manifold becomes fouled.

Bilge Pump Direct Engine Room Bilge Suction Valve

 Back-Up Bilge Pumping Systems
General Locations

Main Engine Raw Water Emergency Bilge Pump-Outs

If things get really messy, and you lose both your Bilge
Pump, and your Ballast/General Service/Fire Pump, you
can still pump out your Engine Room Bilges by opening
the Propulsion Engine Raw Water Pump Emergency
Bilge Suction Valves.
Note: Port and Starboard Main Engines need to be
running to make this work, and this is a last ditch
system.
 Back-Up Bilge Pumping Systems
General Locations

Main Engine Raw Water Emergency Bilge Pump-Outs

This is the Starboard Main Engine

Emergency Bilge Pump-Out Valve

Opening this valve allows the

Starboard Main Engine Raw Water
Pump to act as an emergency
bilge pump.

We will discuss how to put this

system into operation later.
STBD M.E. Raw Water Pump
 Back-Up Bilge Pumping Systems
General Locations

Main Engine Raw Water Emergency Bilge Pump-Outs

Starboard Main Engine Raw

Water Emergency Bilge Pump-
Out Valve is located below a
deck plate just to the starboard
of Fire Pump #1, right by the
Mud Box for the Starboard
Engine Room Bilge Suction.
 Back-Up Bilge Pumping Systems
General Locations

Main Engine Raw Water Emergency Bilge Pump-Outs

Port Main Engine Raw Water

Emergency Bilge Pump-Out
Valve is located flush on a deck
plate just to the starboard of
Fire Pump #2

It is just forward of the Bilge and

Ballast/G.S./Fire Pump skid.

You dont have to lift deck plates

to access it.
 General Locations
External Bilge Pump-Outs

The Outlets are 2 inch threaded female

NST connections. They are designed to
connect to an eductor suction in order to
pump out the bilges in a dire emergency.

Sucks out VSP

Room:
Port Main Deck
Forward

Sucks out STBD Engine

Room:
Starboard Main Deck
Forward, by Grey and
Sucks out PORT Engine
Black water MARPOL
Room:
Connections.
Port Main Deck By
Shore Power
 General Locations
External Bilge Pump-Outs

They drop from the main deck, and

directly down into the bilge of the space
to pump out.
The three spaces that have these type of
pump outs are:
1. STBD Engine Room
2. PORT Engine Room
3. VSP Room

This one is for the VSP Room and

comes from the Port Main Deck,
drops into the port side bilge of
the VSP Room and terminates in
a Rose Box.