Rio Olympics ferries to have Caterpillar DGB gen sets

SEPTEMBER 8, 2014 — Caterpillar Marine and Cat Dealer Pon Power report that the first Cat 3512C marine generator sets with Dynamic Gas Blending (DGB) have been selected to power the series of seven 78 m, 2,000 passenger fast ferries being built for Assessoria Transporte Aquaviaro for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They will operate on Guanabara Bay between Rio de Janeiro and Niterói.

The aluminum hulled ferries are being built to the Coco Yachts Holland B.V. Urban Sprinter design by Afai Southern Shipyards in China. The first was launched last month.

Each ferry will feature diesel electric propulsion (DEP) with azimuth thrusters and identical engine rooms.

A total of 28 Cat generator sets will be installed on the vessels, with 14 Cat 3512 generator sets and 14 Cat 9 generator sets providing prime and auxiliary power. Each 3512 generator set will provide 1,550 eKW @ 60 Hz of rated power.

One ferry will be equipped with the new Cat marine dual fuel solution and powered by compressed natural gas (CNG). The remaining six ferries are being constructed with the option to readily retrofit the engine room to include the Dynamic Gas Blending kits in the future.

“We’re pleased to unveil our first Cat Marine 3500 dual fuel solutions with Dynamic Gas Blending for such a significant global event,” said Chris Chenette, Caterpillar Marine product value manager noted. “Assessoria Transporte Aquaviaro will be not only be able to optimize the efficiency of their vessels powered by Cat dual fuel solutions but also operate on the waters with the confidence and product support you can only get from Caterpillar.”

Cat dealer Pon Power led the Caterpillar efforts on the project and will continue to provide support, packaging and commissioning for the Cat power solutions. “We, as Pon Power, see gas as the future fuel for marine. We are happy to materialize the customer needs of Coco Yachts together with Caterpillar Marine,” said Thomas de Haas, Pon Power Director Marketing and New Business Development.

Manufactured in Lafayette, Indiana, the Cat 3512 DGB generator set features a low pressure gas system with an approximately 70% maximum gas substitution rate across a wide load range. The IMO II-compliant generator set operates with diesel-like rated power and transient response while maintaining an overhaul life similar to a diesel engine. Operators can achieve significant fuel savings due to what Caterpillar calls the “stellar” load factor and substitution rate. Ideal for high speed applications, the new Cat marine dual fuel solution is based on the highly successful Cat dual fuel application for land drilling which was introduced to the market in 2012. The Cat 3512 generator sets at 1550 eKW with Dynamic Gas Blending are available to order now from the Cat dealer network.

“The new Cat Marine dual fuel solution leverages the proven durability of the 3500 diesel engine while offering customers enhanced fuel flexibility and power redundancy to run diesel or gas,” said Jason Spear, Caterpillar Marine product definition engineer. “Furthermore the DGB technology is integrated into the diesel injection system to ensure combustion is optimized as a factory-supported solution.”