First Cat Marine Hybrid Thruster delivered

Caterpillar Marine has delivered the first Cat Marine Hybrid Thruster system to an undisclosed shipyard in Singapore to be commissioned later this year.

The new propulsion set-up offers advantages for vessels spending a high amount of time in standby or dynamic positioning service – with potential annual fuel savings of up to 35 per cent calculated across the entire operating profile of the vessel, according to Caterpillar.

Typically, the company expect the Cat Marine Hybrid Thruster system to be used to downsize a vessel’s main engine so that engine load is optimized, while also allowing the vessel to switch to diesel electric mode for low DP operations or in standby.

We see significant market potential for the new set-up on board both existing and new ships to meet the increasing need for operational efficiency and reduced operating costs,” Jonas Nyberg, regional sales manager South East Asia said.

In transit operations and in diesel-mechanical mode, the smaller engines run at higher loads, consuming less fuel. In low-speed transit, either one or two gensets can power the main azimuth thruster in diesel-electric mode giving typical fuel savings of 10-15 per cent at speeds in the 7-9 knots range, depending on hull profile.

However, the company believes biggest savings are made during standby and DP operations where the vessel would operate in diesel electric mode with the main azimuth propellers running in the most efficient variable speed mode.