A RECENT paper given to The Institute of Marine Engineers by Comm. K. I. Short, O.B.E., D.S.C., R.N., was concerned with operational experiences with medium speed Diesel engines and referred to several instances in which lubrication design could be improved. His first comments referred to lubricating oil pumps. Instances were quoted in which in order to avoid an unnecessary ‘extra’ the electrically driven system was adopted with the lubricating oil fed from essential services. Lack of electrical power or reduction of oil pressure shut down the engine but in practice there have been a series of incidents involving loss of pressure and failure to shut down the engine causing bearing damage. The author believed that the failures reported are enough to demand engine driven primary lubricating oil pumps as a prudent precaution, and especially in non‐reversing engines.