Options available for dual-fuel retrofits

Pressure on operator costs combined with more stringent emissions regulations have boosted the sales of new dual-fuel engines. The Caterpillar Corporation, however, is also delivering successful dual-fuel retrofit conversions for its MaK four-stroke diesel engines. Building on earlier experience, Caterpillar Marine scheduled conversion work on the Fure West tanker to be completed by the end of 2015. The 472 foot tanker, owned by Furetank Rederi A/B, will have its existing MaK M43C diesel engine retrofitted to the seven-cylinder M46 dual-fuel platform while remaining in the ship’s hull. The new rating will be 900kW per cylinder and Caterpillar is supplying the full on-board gas system, which includes bunker stations, the LNG tanks and vaporiser equipment.

The project has been backed by the European Union and will be the second of Caterpillar’s MaK engine dual-fuel retrofits, following the conversion of the Anthony Veder Coral Anthelia LNG carrier in 2014. “We’re pleased to continue to build upon our successful track record of dual-fuel conversions in the commercial marine industry and offer an increased scope of supply to our customers,” said Finn Vogler, Caterpillar Marine senior engineer. “We have a market-ready technology available that our commercial marine customers can be completely confident in and after our success onboard the Coral Anthelia, we have seen the demand for MaK dual-fuel solutions increase substantially.”

The Mak M46 dual-fuel engine is suitable for both electrical and mechanical drive propulsion systems and is designed for unlimited operation on LNG, marine diesel oil and heavy fuel oil, with Caterpillar claiming industry-leading efficiency levels when running on gas fuel. The company also points out that MaK M32E engines can be retrofitted to the MaK M34DF dual-fuel platform, offering similar benefits of hull retrofit conversions without having to move the engine block or perform extensive machining.