Mechanical engineers design the main propulsion system, power and mechanization aspects of ship functions such as steering, anchoring, loading and unloading, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, internal and external communications and other related requirements. Power generation and distribution systems are usually designed by their suppliers; only the marine design engineer is responsible for installation.
Oceanographic Engineering
Oceanographic engineering deals with mechanical, electrical, electronic, and computer technology used to support oceanography, and falls under marine engineering.
Marine Engineering
Civil engineering for the marine environment, the design and construction of fixed and floating offshore structures such as oil derricks and offshore wind farms, is commonly referred to as marine engineering.
Specific challenges of naval engineering
Hydrodynamic Loading
Just as civil engineers design to withstand wind loads on buildings and bridges, naval architecture and marine engineering design to accommodate a bending ship or platform that is struck by waves millions of times over its lifetime.
Stability
The naval architect, like the aircraft designer, is concerned with stability. A naval architect's job is different because a ship operates in two fluids at once: water and air. Engineers also face the problem of balancing cargo as the ship's weight increases and its center of gravity shifts higher when additional containers are stacked vertically. In addition, fuel weight is a problem as the tilt of the boat causes the weight to shift along with the liquid, causing imbalance. This compensation is compensated by water in the large ballast tanks. Engineers face the challenge of balancing and tracking the ship's fuel and water ballast.
Corrosion
The chemical environment that ships and structures encounter on the high seas is much harsher than anywhere else on land, except in chemical plants. Marine engineers take care to protect the surface and prevent galvanic corrosion on every project. A piece of metal, such as zinc, is used as a sacrificial anode because it becomes an anode in a chemical reaction. This causes the metal to corrode, not the hull of the boat.
Another way to prevent corrosion is to apply a controlled amount of weak DC current to the hull of the ship to prevent the electrochemical corrosion process. This changes the electrical charge on the hull of the ship to prevent electrochemical corrosion.