The PG25370 Certificate in Marine Engineering Processes and Operations is classed at NFQ Level 5 in Ireland. It’s meant for beginners who are starting to handle real machinery, not just read about it. The award sets out to build practical competence—steady hands, safe habits, and a working sense of how shipboard systems fit together.
To be fair, it’s not just about turning valves or checking gauges. The course shapes awareness of the whole marine environment: the SOLAS safety code, MARPOL pollution rules, and the ISM Code that keeps vessels accountable. Learners become familiar with diesel and electric propulsion, fuel and lube systems, pumps, generators, and the daily routine of log-keeping.
By the end, graduates are ready to support qualified engineers—helping with maintenance, reading pressures or temperatures, and spotting faults early. They’re also expected to follow PPE discipline, lock-out/tag-out practice, and permit-to-work routines without fail. In practice, that’s the real lesson: work safely, record what you do, and never assume someone else has isolated the gear.
Continuous assessment counts for a fifth of the mark. It checks whether a learner can follow instructions properly and keep evidence neat enough for an audit. The tasks look simple—record readings, fill a checklist, close out a permit—but small mistakes can ruin the data trail.
It is evident that strong CA work feels almost procedural: baseline readings noted, signatures in the right boxes, and every Permit-to-Work attached. Assessors watch for accuracy more than style. A log entry that says “2.1 bar before, 2.4 bar after cleaning” tells its own story.
Mini CA Checklist
Task brief read, risk assessment attached
Baseline readings written down (pressure/temperature/voltage)
Tools and PPE checked; PTW and LOTO confirmed
Steps followed; deviations noted honestly
Post-task test done; results within limits
Documentation filed and signed off
Safety Call-out • ISM & Quality Assurance
Every CA job needs isolation proof. Guards back in place, tags on the breaker, PPE checked for wear. Random audits under the ISM Code often pull one file and trace it line by line. If numbers or initials are missing, the work is treated as unverified. It sounds strict, but at sea, that discipline keeps people alive.
The Skills Demonstration part is the big one—eighty per cent. It’s where things get sweaty, noisy, and a bit real. We had to start and stop equipment, trace faults, and keep our paperwork straight while the machinery hummed beside us.
I remember doing a cooling-pump overhaul. The heat was rough, the bolts half-seized, and the space was tight enough to scrape your knuckles. Still, it turned out fine once the seal went in. Before cleaning, discharge pressure showed 2.1 bar; after reassembly, 2.4 bar — right back in spec. I wrote that down straight away. Little details like that prove you didn’t guess.
The evidence bundle—job card, permit copy, trend graph, and a short reflection—forms the grade base. To be honest, the paperwork nearly takes as long as the work itself. But it mirrors real vessel practice under SOLAS and ISM systems.
Propulsion keeps a vessel alive. Most training boats here run diesel engines, though we also studied gas-turbine and electric-hybrid setups. Each turns fuel into rotation that drives the propeller. The motion travels through shafts, bearings, couplings, and seals—everything lined up to carry torque efficiently. A small mis-alignment, even a few millimetres, can rattle the whole deck.
Auxiliary machines handle the side jobs: pumps move fluids, compressors feed air, generators keep the lights on, and heat exchangers calm the temperature swings. Control panels sit in the engine-control room, blinking quietly until something drifts off limit.
| System | Function | Key Reading | Common Fault | Preventive Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel System | Feed clean fuel | 3 – 5 bar | Filter blockage | Drain water, renew filter |
| Lube Oil | Reduce friction | 2 – 4 bar | Contamination | Sample oil, clean strainer |
| Cooling | Remove heat | 60 – 85 °C | Scale build-up | Flush circuit, replace impeller |
| Air System | Engine start/control | 25 – 30 bar | Moisture in lines | Drain receivers daily |
| Shaft Line | Transfer torque | RPM & temp | Bearing wear | Check alignment, add oil |
Safety Call-out – Rotating Parts & Hot Surfaces
Always tag out and spin check before touching a guard. Hot casings can brand you fast, and loose sleeves near a shaft can end badly. PPE and LOTO aren’t paperwork—they’re the only real barrier.
In practice, that task reminded me how tiny readings—pressures, flows, noise—signal the health of the whole propulsion chain.
Fault-finding on a vessel isn’t guessing. It’s a small chain of logic: note the symptom, check the logs, look closely, test, fix, and re-test. Skip one step and you start over.
Typical trouble spots include the cooling circuit, fuel feed, bilge pump, steering gear, or HVAC. A few readings can tell plenty. For instance, a quick look at a manometer or a vibration pen often shows what words miss.
| Symptom | Likely Cause | Test / Reading | Fix | After Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pump no flow | Air lock/impeller damage | 0 bar on the manometer | Bleed line, renew impeller | 2.2 bar steady |
| Generator hot | Blocked cooler/belt slip | IR thermo > 90 °C | Clean matrix, fit new belt | 72 °C normal |
| Low voltage | Brush wear / AVR fault | 190 V output | Change brushes, reset AVR | 220 V restored |
Safety Call-out – Isolation and Gas-Freeing
Always de-pressurise, cool down, and gas-test before loosening any line. The smell of fuel vapour can be deceiving; it lingers. Lock-out tags close the story before it starts.
So it turned out that the calm, step-by-step approach solved problems faster than rushing. The system rewarded patience more than strength.
Ship design always starts with compromise. A hull that’s fast often drinks fuel; a heavy one stays steady but slows the run. At Level 5, the aim is to understand those trade-offs, not to draw blueprints. We studied mono- and multi-hull forms, how frames, bulkheads, and keels share the load, and why corrosion never sleeps.
Most training examples were steel, though aluminium shows up on patrol craft and composites on small ferries. Each material changes how vibration feels underfoot. In practice, it took a while to read drawings and see how the real frames matched the paper ones.
| Aspect | Purpose | Key Parameter | Practical Implication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hull form | Shape for buoyancy & drag | Block coefficient (Cb) | High Cb = more cargo / less speed |
| Frame spacing | Structural strength | mm between frames | Closer spacing = stiffer hull |
| Bulkheads | Compartment integrity | No. of watertight divisions | Limits flooding if breach occurs |
| Ballast arrangement | Trim control | Tank volume & position | Balances fore-aft stability |
| GM value | Metacentric height | m (> 0.5 safe for small craft) | Shows how quickly vessel rights itself |
Stability lessons were more than numbers. When the instructor rolled the model tank, the shift of one small weight tipped everything off balance. It was a good reminder that free-surface effect can undo even tidy loading plans.
Safety Call-out – Watertight Integrity
Before sailing, all hatches must be clipped and seals checked. A loose hatch once flooded half our demo tank. Since then, everyone double-checks dog clips. Under the SOLAS rule set, watertight closures are not a suggestion—they’re law.
So it turned out that keeping balance, literally and organisationally, defines seaworthiness more than fancy design.
Most real engineering life is routine. Grease, wipe, measure, record. Nothing dramatic—until someone skips it. Our module covered lube-oil checks, fuel-filter cleaning, belt-tension tests, and heat-exchanger descaling.
I started by checking the lube-oil filter. The reading had crept up a bit, 1.3 bar across the element. After cleaning, it dropped to 0.8. Small win, but the log now tells the next watch the system’s breathing easier.
Electrical rounds were next. We inspected generator terminals, wiped panels, and noted insulation readings. The instructor kept repeating: “housekeeping prevents short circuits.” Sounds dull, yet it sticks.
| Task | Spec / Limit | Reading / Result | Pass / Fail | Action / Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel filter pressure drop | < 1 bar | 0.7 bar | ✅ | OK for service |
| Alternator output | 220 ± 5 V | 218 V | ✅ | Slight drop logged |
| Bilge pump discharge | > 2 bar | 2.3 bar | ✅ | Clean the strainer next round |
| Fire extinguisher seal | Intact | Yes | ✅ | Hydro test due Nov 2025 |
Safety Call-out – Permit to Work and Confined Space
No task starts without a signed PTW. Even a quick peek into a tank needs gas-free papers. During one exercise, a sensor failed, so we waited half an hour for a replacement. Boring, yes, but nobody argues with oxygen readings.
In practice, the routine work built quite a confidence. When systems behave, it’s usually because some trainee somewhere cleaned the filter on time.
Safe working isn’t theory—it’s muscle memory. The training centre drilled start-up and shut-down sequences until we could recite them. Fuel on, air on, cooling open, alarms tested, then start. Reverse the order to stop. Simple, but order matters.
Maintenance steps followed the same logic: identify the job, wear the right PPE, isolate energy, hang tags, confirm zero energy, then start work. At first, the Lock-Out/Tag-Out felt overcautious. After seeing a spanner arc across a live terminal, nobody complained again.
Emergency drills covered fire, flooding, blackout, and man overboard. We practised donning gear against the clock. In one session, the smoke machine filled the compartment so fast we lost orientation. It hit home why musters and roll calls exist.
| Scenario | First Action | Controls / Equipment | Report / Log | Recovery Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine-room fire | Raise alarm | CO₂ system, fire doors | Bridge + log entry | Vent reopened only after CO₂ cleared |
| Flooding | Close valves | Portable pump | Report Chief Eng. | Sound bilges after 30 min |
| Blackout | Start emergency gen. | Auto start relay check | Log voltage recovery | Switch back manual after stabilised |
| Man overboard | Point and shout | Throw buoy, stop engines | Bridge log, GPS mark | Recover & check injuries |
Safety Call-out – SOLAS Drills & Post-Incident Debriefs
After every drill we sat down and spoke through what went right and what didn’t. Sometimes the radio lagged; sometimes someone froze. The talk fixed that faster than blame. Under SOLAS Chapter III, that reflection is as mandatory as the drill itself.
To be fair, I came in thinking safety was paperwork. By the end, it felt like a muscle reflex—something that wakes up before thought.
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