Thursday 28th February

Today the engineers were going to be starting up the main engines of the ship as part of their monthly checks to make sure everything is still running ok because when you're sat in a port for so long there is a danger that things will seize up if not fired up regularly. This is very important as the ship needs to be able to leave the port within 2 hours if trouble kicks off in the country. 
We were invited to go down to the engine room to have a look around and help with the testing. It was soon evident that there were some problems. Everyone was busy trying to sort out minor problems. They traced the problems back to the inlet vents for the engines cooling system and found that the filters were blocked which meant the engines were getting too hot. They managed to clear some of it from the inside filter in the engine room, but the decision was made in the end to send the divers down to unclog the vents on the outside. We have noticed that there is a lot of rubbish in the water around the port and this is what clogs the vents up. The local workers on the dock tend to use the water as a toilet so that doesn't help either!

Once this had been sorted out the chief engineer showed us around the engine room which was very interesting, especially for Dave! There are lots of tanks for various things like sewage, water, gas, fuel, clinical waste, sprinkler system, etc. The maintenance routines were explained, how they have to be serviced and cleaned regularly, also painting, etc. As they can't just pop to a spare parts shop to pick something up if it goes wrong, especially when they are at sea, they have a workshop on board so they can make their own parts. 
We were then taken up on to deck 8 where we were shown the container with the machine which produces the oxygen to be used in the operating theatres and wards. We then went to see the CO2 bottles which are stored in the casing around the funnel. This is used for putting out fires but can only be discharged to put a fire out by the captain as it is highly volatile. 
We thanked the chief engineer for showing us around. 

In the afternoon, we had a fire drill and had to evacuate the ship onto the dock and go to our muster stations. Whilst waiting to be let back on board we chatted with a lady from Holland about our experiences so far. 

After the fire drill Nathanael had a swimming lesson. He is being taught by one of the teenagers on board and she's doing a great job. Today he swam under water for the first time! 

At 7.30 we went to the community meeting in the international lounge, which was a bit like a church service with notices, some worship and a speaker. After the community meeting it's treat time! Ice cream is served with all sorts of sauces and sprinkles! Yummy!