<div class="htmlview paragraph">The basic reason for most marine diesel maintenance problems can be summed up briefly--lack of proper instrumentation. Preventive maintenance is the key to efficient and reliable operation of marine power plants, and this can be effected only by valuable safeguards such as torsion meters, lube pumps, proper inspection, and interpretation of consequent data. Instrumentation and inspection techniques are discussed and related to the responsibilities of both manufacturers and operators.</div>