What is COPT & Its Operation, Maintenance & Safety

COPT is Cargo Oil Pump Turbine

- It is a combination of 2 units. Pump and Turbine. Pump is for pumping action and turbine is for
driving the pump or driving the pump shaft. Normally we have motor for driving the pump but
here turbine (steam turbine) drives the pump.
- turbine may be either horizontal or vertical.

- COPT is initial cost of installation is high but it is quite reliable and it reduces the port stay time
significantly thus brings more benefit to company

- COP (Cargo Oil Pump) is a centrifugal pump for handling huge quantity of oil. It has replaced
reciprocating pumps. It requires less maintenance.
- The pump and driver is connected with the flexible couplings trough an intermediate shaft and
bulkhead stuffing box.
Components Of COPT
1- Turbine casing: It contains turbine blades.
2- Turbine blades: These blades are responsible for energy conversion.
3- Volute casing: It contains the impeller of the pump.
4- Impeller: It’s a double entry impeller and
5- Pump Shaft: It’s a connection between turbine and pump. It transmits the motion to impeller.
6- Bearing: The rotating element is supported by ball bearing on both sides of pump casing.
7- Bulkhead stuffing box: It is used to seal the gas from pump to engine room.
8- Pump Stuffing Box Seal: The stuffing box is designed as to furnish mechanical seal exclusively.
Therefore there is no leakage of the liquid pumped and no air leaks into the pump.
9- Other components are Condenser, L.O cooler, L.O sump tank, Governor etc.
Working Of COPT
- Boiler produces high pressure steam and it is forced to turbine blades. Here pressure energy of
steam is converted to motion (kinetic) energy. Turbine rotates the pump shaft and thus impeller of
the pump to take suction.
- The main idea is to rotate the turbine blades. Generally oil tanker has 2 high pressure auxiliary
boilers as COPT is driven by high pressure steam 16 kg/cm2 which provides a large force to the
impeller shaft and as a result of which pump creates a suction force.
Checks Before Starting COPT
- Give some oil to mechanical seal.
- Give a few turn to coupling with the turning bar and see if it turn normally.
- Make sure the rotation direction of driver is correct.
- Make sure the grease in bearing housing and the oil in coupling is within the limits.
Starting Of COPT
 Close the discharge valve completely and open the suction valve fully.
 When the liquid level in the cargo tank is above the pump, the liquid flows in the pump casing
by gravity, so open the air vent valve on the top of volute casing to draw the air in the pump
and close it in when the liquid begins to flow out of it.
 When the liquid level in the tank is below the pump, draw the air in the pump and suction
through the gas vent on the volute casing by means of stripping pump or some other extracting
device so that liquid can fill inside the pump. In this case keep the air vent valve closed so that
no air can enter the pump casing.
 Opening of discharge valve: As if we open the valve fully can cause a surge in pressure and
chances of pump trip is also there. Initially, 35% of the discharge valve are to be opened and
observe the discharge pressure gauge for any rapid fall in pressure. If the revolution speed of
the pump and pressure is steady, then increase the speed of the pump by increasing the flow
from discharge valve.

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Precautions
During operation of the pump: Ensure the separator is full with liquid in whole discharging
process to avoid ingress of any air/vapour in casing. In case the suction valve and separator are
not fully filled, can lead to heating up of the pump casing, impeller, etc. and if the pump still
runs into this situation will lead to collapse and damage to the pump.
 As the level of the cargo tanks drops, suction pressure approaches the vapour pressure of the
liquid and vapour develop in the suction line and pump starts to suck gas. In order to prevent
this, vapour and gas coming into pump can be drawn through that vent by means of vacuum
stripping or some other extracting device.
 Never operate the pump for over 3 minutes with discharge valve fully closed. Most of the
power will change into heat as a result of which temperature of the liquid inside the pump will
rise causing seizure of interior parts of the pump.
 When operating more than two pumps in parallel, be sure to keep the discharge pressure of
each pump equal or else the low pressure pump will act to pump as discharge valve is closed
and as a result of which temperature inside casing will rise.
Alarms And Trips In COPT
COPT system is very important as it discharges oil at very high rate. Failure of the system may lead to
serious problem. There are following alarms to act during any problems:
- Low L.O pressure
- High L.O temperature
- L.O Tank low level
- High bearing temperature
- Pump casing high temperature
- There are some trips also for the safety of machinery and operation. Here is the some common
trips in COPT system:
- Low L.O pressure trip
- High bearing temperature trip
- Over-speed trip
- Very high discharge pressure trip
- Emergency trip
COPT Vacuum Condenser
- This is a type of: Surface condenser or vacuum condenser
- The COPT condenser, IS condenses steam under vacuum.
- It is used to condense low pressure steam before it enters the boiler feed pump.
- Twin jet ejectors for creating the vacuum, as well as the jet ejector condenser are also supplied.
- Steam ejectors are used to eject air form Condenser and maintain a vacuum inside.
- Seawater is used as the coolant fluid.

FRAMO CARGO PUMPING SYSTEM

Framo hydraulically driven submerged cargo pumps provide safe, efficient and flexible cargo handling of any
type of liquid cargo. Improved cargo handling performance gives quicker turnaround time, more ton-miles and
fewer voyages in ballast.
Cargo pump
1- Barrel Type Cargo pump
- Is centrifugal pump with double eye suction.
- Provided with inducer to prevent cavitations and improve the flow properties
- Has two external bearing 1- for hydraulic thrust , 2- act like radial load bearing
2- Submerged Pump
- Driven by electric or hydraulic
- Some time occur leakage of hydraulic oil with the cargo oil

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 3- Deep Well Pumps
- Used for L.P.G and L.N.G
- Using Carbon Bearing
- Multi stage Pump
- Using Hydraulic Motor
The framo hydraulic cargo pumping system is designed for a flexible and safe cargo and tank cleaning operation
on ships. It consists of one hydraulic motor driven cargo pump installed in each cargo tank, ballast pumps, tank
cleaning pumps, portable pumps and other consumers, all connected via a hydraulic ring line system to a
hydraulic power unit. The submerged cargo pump is a single stage centrifugal pump with the impeller close to
the tank top, giving a good pumping performance of all kinds of liquids and with excellent stripping
performance. The hydraulic section is surrounded by a cofferdam that completely segregates the hydraulic oil
from the cargo.

The discharge from all cargo, ballast and other pumps connected to the system may be
- remotely controlled from framo control panel, vessel’s integrated control system (ICS)
- locally at each pump via the control valve.
- The portable pump is controlled locally at the pump via the control valve.
The equipment is manufactured in Norway ‘Framo’ facility and the most important benefits of the system are:
- Segregation of cargoes for vessel’s safety and the environment.
- Maximum transport volume.
- Efficient stripping and tank cleaning.
- Hydraulic system without any electrical power equipment in cargo area.
- Automatic regulation of power needed and impossible to overload.
System Description
The Framo cargo pumping system is controlled by a Programmable Logic Control (PLC) installed inside the
control panel. The PLC is programmed by Framo and provides the logic for safe operation of the system.

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ALARM SYSTEM
All alarm inputs, except “Wear indication” are normally closed, meaning that the system is built up on normally
closed contacts. Hence if a contact opens or there is a loose wire, an alarm condition occurs, i.e. FAIL TO SAFE.
The alarms are divided into two groups:
a) Shut down
b) Alarm for indication (pre-warning) only
Each alarm is indicated with a flickering light and an acoustic signal. The “Horn silence” button must be
operated before it is possible to confirm the alarm by the “Acknowledge” button.
Group a) alarms: The “Reset” button must be operated to clear the alarm.
Group b) alarms: Automatic reset
POWER SUPPLY
Most hydraulic system control panels are supplied via two separate power feeders, main and back-up. In case of
failure to main feeder, automatic change-over to back-up will take place. For increased availability and
simplified trouble shooting, the control system is electrically divided into separate sub-systems. Each sub-
system has its own 24VDC power supply.
FEED PUMPS
The feed pumps are started/stopped manually from control panel or from the electric starter cabinet.

POWER PACKS
The power packs are started/stopped manually from control panel or from the electric starter cabinet.

REMOTE CONTROL OF HYDRAULICALLY DRIVEN PUMPS

The command signals from potentiometers at the front of the control panel are fed directly into the
proportional valves for speed control. The built in pressure transmitters give a 4-20 mA (0-300 bar) feedback
signal to the instruments on the control panel.
EMERGENCY STOP ARRANGEMENT
Following emergency stop arrangement is provided by Framo according to class requirements:
Emergency stop push buttons located on deck are stopping the cargo pumps only, other consumers are not
affected.
Emergency stop push button located on hydraulic system control panel and central location outside engine
room are stopping the hydraulic system.
SYSTEM SHUT DOWN
If a shut down function is initiated, the PLC will give shut down command to the power packs in sequence. The
first power pack stops immediately and delay between shut down command of each following power pack is
0.75 seconds.
COOLING WATER INLET VALVE
The valve is automatically controlled and will open at hydraulic oil temperature above 50°C. It will stay open
until the temperature decreases to below 30°C, then it will close. If no power packs are running and the
hydraulic oil temperature is below 49°C, the valve will be closed. If there is a mismatch between command and
feedback signal, an alarm will be released. If failure in the temperature monitoring loop, the valve will be
opened.
ELECTRIC CONTROLLED BALLAST PUMP EJECTOR
The priming of ballast pump is done by creating vacuum in the pump casing. For creating vacuum, an air ejector
is installed. The ejector for the priming system is automatically controlled by the PLC. The PLC receives input
from a level switch installed in the pump casing and controls the solenoid valve for the ejector pilot air, starting
and stopping the ejector.
INERT GAS PRESSURE LOW
Input from external system for shut down of cargo pumps. Visual and audible alarm provided
CARGO PRESSURE HIGH
Input from external system for shut down of cargo pumps. Visual and audible alarm provided