Question 60 QMED03 - Oiler

The Correct Answer is C ### Why Option C is Correct: The emergency bilge suction valve (often called the high-level or emergency bilge suction) is a critical safety device designed for catastrophic situations. It connects the bilge system directly to one of the ship's most powerful pumps—usually the main circulating water pump (seawater pump) or the ballast pump. The purpose of this arrangement is to provide an exceptionally high pumping capacity that can rapidly evacuate large volumes of water from the engine room or other compartments in a true emergency, such as a major flooding event or a serious hull breach, when standard bilge pumps are overwhelmed or disabled. Therefore, it is used **if the bilges become flooded and they cannot be emptied by any other means.** ### Why Other Options Are Incorrect: **A) to inject cleaning additives when the bilges are extremely dirty:** The emergency bilge suction system is purely for water removal. Injecting chemicals or additives is a function of dedicated cleaning equipment, not the emergency pumping system. Furthermore, using the main circulating pump for this purpose would risk fouling the pump and associated machinery. **B) when the main condenser becomes fouled, in order to provide additional cooling water circulation:** The emergency bilge suction is designed to *draw* water *out* of the bilges. It does not provide cooling water circulation to the main condenser. If the main condenser is fouled, the solution involves cleaning the condenser or increasing the flow rate of the existing circulating pumps, not utilizing the bilge system. **D) to connect the rose box to the independent bilge suction:** The rose box (or bilge strainer) is already connected to the normal bilge suction lines. The emergency bilge suction valve is designed to bypass the normal bilge system and connect the bilge manifold directly to a high-capacity pump (like the main circulating pump), which is distinct from the independent bilge pump. This valve does not simply connect two parts of the standard bilge line.