Bern Koening of Highlands Ranch, CO, asks:

How many engine hours were there on the first hose prior to developing the pin hole leak? Was the failure of the replacement hose or deterioration at the same location? If so, what explanation or perspective on the matter has Alaska Diesel engines been able to provide.

Ray Danet responds:

Bern, at this moment we have 1990 hours on the engine. The crew first noticed a drip type of leak on the leg from Hawaii. In Hawaii, the second hose was installed. This hose started leaking between Kosrae and Pohnpei. We did not write down the engine hours when the hoses started leaking, but In hindsight that would have been a good idea. Both hoses failed in the same way. At the moment we're not sure why they started leaking, but we did keep the hoses and will check it out when were back home. While we did opt to divert our course temporarily to take care of the hose on the spot, we had enough spare oil so that we could have continued on if we wanted to.

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