[OldWarBaby]

Ships that run on Bunker C or other heavy oils can’t use piston engines. They will always have a steam generator fired by a boiler. They would typically use some of their own spent steam to warm up the fuel tank enough to get the stuff to flow then vaporized under pressure to get it to burn. You might find crude oil carriers using that system since they can burn the stuff they’re hauling.

[LonePalm]

The big problem with burning the really heavy stuff to generate steam is that they are high maintenance. You have to clean firesides more often. That means that you have to let all that firebrick cool off before someone can crawl inside to clean the tubes and firebrick.

Having been inside one of our boilers, I can tell you there isn't much room to move around. It's not a nice place, even after it has been cleaned.

SpyNavy

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)