Cat unveils Tier 4 marine engines

OCTOBER 8, 2013 — Caterpillar Marine Power Systems will unveil a significant product milestone at the 2013 International Workboat Show, introducing its comprehensive U.S. EPA Tier 4 power solutions for vessels using engines over 2,000 kW.

Cat 3516C Tier 3 engine: Tier 4 will be unveiled at Workboat Show

The first engine platforms to be rolled out as Tier 4 solutions are versions of the Cat 3516C marine engine and the Cat 280 marine engine. The C280 engine will be available as Tier 4 certified in both the 8 and 12 cylinder configurations. The Cat 3516C Tier 4 certified engine as well as the Cat C280-8 Tier 4 certified engine and Cat C280-12 Tier 4 certified engine are now all available for customers to order through the global Cat dealer network.

“Our message to customers is simple: we’re ready; come and see us,” said Mark Harrison, Caterpillar engineering manager. “We recognize the emissions regulations impacting the commercial marine industry are both significant and challenging and we want to be present in our customers’ decision-making process and work together to design Tier 4 solutions for their vessels. We’ll get this done together.”

The Cat 3516C Tier 4 certified engine will be available in ratings of 2,240 bkW and 2,350 bkW @1800 rpm. An auxiliary or diesel electric propulsion solution is available in a 2,250 ekW   (2,368 bkW) rating.  

The Cat C280-8 Tier 4 certified marine propulsion engines will be available in ratings of 2,460 bkW and 2,710 bkW @1000 rpm with the auxiliary engines and diesel electric propulsion generator set available of 2,185 ekW and 2,400 ekW @900 rpm. The Cat C280-12 Tier 4 certified marine propulsion engines will be available in ratings of 3,700 bkW and 4,060 bkW @1000 rpm with the auxiliary engines and diesel electric propulsion generator set available ratings of 3,320 kW and 3,640 ekW @900 rpm.

Caterpillar Tier 4 marine technology utilizes aftertreatment combined with a fuel efficiency optimized engine to meet the low NOx regulations.

Both the C280 and 3516C Tier 4 certified solutions employ selective catalyst reduction (SCR) technology, which, says Caterpillar, will provide customers with the lowest possible owning and operating costs. The SCR module was designed with the engine room in mind with compact dimensions. Additionally the inclusion of SCR technology enables customer to leverage shared components as well as a similar engine footprint to EPA Tier 2 and Tier 3 engines.

“We designed our Tier 4 solutions with one goal in mind: to provide the lowest overall owning and operating costs for our customers,” Mr. Harrison noted, “We are aware of the impact the regulations have on our customers’ bottom line and wanted to ensure our Tier 4 solutions minimized the costs of adopting this new technology.”

Caterpillar says that the Cat 3516C and C280 Tier 4 certified marine power solutions are ideal for customers in the tug and salvage and offshore industries.  Additional Tier 4 compliant platforms will be launched in the near future