Retrofit Caterpillar 3516 engine
October 2022 - In the Pon Power workshop in Papendrecht, there’s a Caterpillar marine engine that has received a major upgrade. As a result, this engine can run at full speed again for many years, while being more sustainable at the same time. How? Account manager Jan Aarssen, service technician Tobias Vroomen and service coordinator Gerben Hak can reveal all. In the workshop, Jan, Tobias and Gerben show the engine and explain the how, what and why.
Making shipping more sustainable
“Making the shipping industry more sustainable has top priority”, account manager Jan Aarssen explains. “With every new ship, the shipping sector becomes more sustainable. However, making the existing fleet more sustainable as quickly as possible is also important for our customers. They’re well aware of the environmental requirements imposed but don’t always realise they can have existing engines retrofitted to meet those requirements. For example, this Caterpillar 3516 marine engine has been upgraded from IMO-I to IMO-II.”
“Making the shipping industry more sustainable has top priority. With every new ship, the shipping sector becomes more sustainable.”
IMO regulations getting stricter
"The International Maritime Organization (IMO), part of the United Nations, makes international agreements between the participating member states to make shipping as safe and environmentally friendly as possible”, says Jan. “The IMO regulations regarding nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions have become increasingly strict over time.
It started with the IMO tier I in 2000. The IMO II followed in 2011. Since 2021, the IMO-III has been in force in the Emission Control Areas (ECAs) in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Which requirements you must meet therefore depends on your area of work but, apart from that, companies want to become more sustainable anyway. A good reputation in shipping and sustainability go hand in hand.”
Retrofit from IMO-I to IMO-II
“It was a great job upgrading this Caterpillar 3516 marine engine from IMO-I to IMO-II,” says mechanic Tobias Vroomen enthusiastically. “We rebuilt the engine to a certified standard from Cat. We then performed a FAT, a Factory Acceptance Test. That test means you test run the engine and generator and you check whether everything works as it should. This includes power, alarms, safety and communication between engine and generator.”
“A retrofit is partly custom work”, continues Gerben Hak, “and the type approval always comes from Caterpillar. They have a wide range of retrofit kits for all kinds of Cat engines and parts. We take a detailed look at the whole thing in advance, so we know exactly which kit is needed for what and that’s different for each engine type.”
“We rebuilt the engine to a certified standard from Cat.”
Supervision from transport up to certification
“We supervise the entire retrofit process”, says Jan. “From logistics and engineering to certification, together with the application support departments of Cat and Pon Power, where they know everything about how to fit a Cat engine correctly. For example, we’ve been able to make good agreements with customs and the customer about the import and export of the engine. And we were the point of contact for the ABS classification society, the supervisory and controlling authority that visited us a few times.”
Retrofits can also be carried out on location
“The great thing is that we can also carry out retrofits on location, in the ship itself”, says Gerben. “So you don't necessarily have to come to our workshop in Papendrecht.”
“And by combining it with major maintenance, the investment is easy to manage”, says Jan. “Apart from the fact that it takes longer to deliver a new engine, especially in the current era, with delivery times that are under pressure. A retrofit is faster and gives your engine a second life.”
“What’s also good to know is that you can also upgrade an existing engine from IMO-I to IMO-III”, Tobias concludes. “There’s a lot that can be done in the field of sustainability when upgrading existing engines, more than you might think. You really don't have to buy a new one for that!”
IMO
The abbreviation IMO stands for International Maritime Organization.
2011
The IMO-II has been in force since 2011.
2021
Since 2021, the IMO-III has been in force in Emission Control Areas in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
3516
A Caterpillar 3516 marine engine has been upgraded from IMO-I to IMO-II.
FAT
The abbreviation FAT stands for Factory Acceptance Test.
ABS
The American Bureau of Shipping classification society supervises and monitors.
More information
Want to know more about upgrading your marine engine to IMO-II or IMO-III? Please contact us via the form below.