The ABC reports – CSIRO’s new $120m Investigator can’t plug into Hobart shore power, moved to Macquarie Wharf
The article is not exactly informative about the exact issue – what happens if they call at other Australian ports ?
What about international ports ?
$120million does not seem like a lot of money for the Investigator – where was she built? Considering that vastly larger and more complex and electricity hungry ships have been calling at Australian ports for many decades – it is puzzling that a fairly small brand new ship could be an issue.
Apologies – I superimposed the “3 pin plug” photo as a joke. I am sure ship to shore connections are vastly more heavy duty and sophisticated.
Seems like a typical CSIRO management stuff up. Not an electrician or electrical engineer but the plugs shown seem to be typical low amp (less than 10 amp) domestic plugs. The high amp and 3 phase domestic plugs (eg for caravans or high amp welders)(3 phase when connected in star or delta type has 415V and can be separated into two different 2 phase circuits as in my house because there are two live wires and a neutral)have slightly longer pins particularly the earth. I think for very high amps 3 phase the connectors have thick round pins with a screwed covers to kept the connectors in place. The higher the current the thicker the cables. You can see cables and connectors like that on building sites and mobile generator sets of suppliers such Energex and Ergon in Qld. It is possible to connect with higher voltage which will allow thinner cables but then it would be necessary to have an on board transformer to bring down the voltage to 415 and 240. Nothing difficult about that and it should not have been a large cost.
Built in Singapore.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RV_Investigator
Seems that the problem is Hobart port not being able to provide enough power.
Don’t know why the ship would be such a power hog.
“I think for very high amps 3 phase the connectors have thick round pins with a screwed covers to kept the connectors in place.”
Yes, often used in factories. Absolutely standard, off the shelf items.
More details trickle out of this Federal GreenLabor mess. We know that mostly all the ships voyages will do will be to produce media items eagerly reproduced by the ABC etc that this or that set of marine measurements supports global warming.
CSIRO sheds light on new Antarctic research ship’s power problems
www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-23/csiro-sheds-light-on-power-problems-for-antarctic-research-ship/5835508?WT.ac=localnews_hobart
Ridiculous story there. What happened after? Good luck!