Three Dutch pilot boats

P/V "Aquila", P/V "Draco" and P/V "Orion" are due to arrive in Europe in late July. The vessels will be in full operation in the ports along the Dutch coast after crew member training.

These environmentally friendly vessels meet the stringent emission regulations set by the authorities of the Port of Rotterdam. Two, already very clean, Tier II compliant Caterpillar ACERT C32 engines power the boat, coupled to ZF 3050 marine gears driving Hamilton 651 water jets. This combination as per Kvichak allows for excellent manoeuverability and a top speed of  appr. 28.5 knots fully loaded.

Each boat is equipped with an exhaust after treatment system; a Selective Catalytic Reduction system (SCR) and a diesel particulate filter system (DPF). The emissions reduction technology is provided Hug Engineering in Switzerland and supplied and serviced through Soottech in the Netherlands.

The SCR system injects a urea based mixture downstream of the engine exhaust outlets into the dry exhaust piping. With the aid of a catalyst the urea combines with nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and reduces them into nitrogen gas (N2) and water (H20). The DPF collects the unburnt soot and with the addition of another catalyst takes the carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), and particulate soot and converts these into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H20). Normal running exhaust temperatures are high enough to achieve an almost complete burn of these captured soot particles, as the shipyard states. The emission performance will have a reduction of 98 percent of particulate matter and 60 percent reduction of NOx, fulfilling all new requirements by IMO and EU guidelines.