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Diesel Tank Cleaning Inland Shipping
The owner of the inland tanker Archelle had just spent a lot of money replacing injectors in one of the engines. To rule everything out and prevent new problems, he commissioned us to thoroughly clean all diesel bunkers.
First, all our equipment was hoisted on board with the crane. After setting up our filtration units, the contents of the port bunker in the aft engine room were pumped over to the starboard bunker.
About 4,000 liters were pumped up through the port filling opening on deck and transferred to the other side. Once the diesel level had dropped below the level of the manhole, we could open the manhole.
In the engine room, we opened the manhole and could pump the rest of the diesel directly out through the manhole. Once empty, the bunker had to be prepared for entry. We do this first by ventilating with a hose, rapidly blowing fresh air from outside in.
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The safety watch checks with measuring equipment whether the tank is suitable for entry. We measure, among other things, the O2 level in the tank and the so-called LEL values. Once the signal is given that it is safe, the tank can be entered. Of course, with respiratory protection. During the cleaning, the safety watch communicates with the person in the tank and keeps him informed of important values.
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All sludge and sediment is carefully vacuumed out. After this, the bunker is flushed with clean diesel and vacuumed again. All loose material is now out. The bunkers are now spotless.
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Once the port tank is clean and the manhole cover is reinstalled, the diesel is pumped from the starboard side to the port side. But not before all diesel has gone through our filtration machine. In the filtration machine, all water is removed from the diesel and dirt particles down to 1 micron are filtered out. This way, we make the bunkers and the diesel completely clean again.
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We wish the inland tanker Archelle a safe journey! See you in 5 years!
Want to know more about cleaning your diesel bunkers on-site or would you like to request a quote? Click here!