US Navy modernizes tug fleet with new YT 808 tugs powered by Cat® Marine engines
Caterpillar Marine to supply marine engines for the US Navy's new fleet of six YT 808-class tugs, the company said in its release. Built by Dakota Creek Industries, the first tug was launched earlier this year in October after completing the last construction phase.
Measuring 90 feet long and 38 feet 3 inches wide, the YT 808 vessel is powered by twin Cat® 3512E marine engines, each rated at 1,810 horsepower. The engines drive two Schottel SRP 340 fixed-pitch z-drive thrusters providing a top speed of 12.5 knots and an expected bollard pull of 40 metric tons.
The new tugs are the Navy's first vessels built to meet the US EPA Tier 4 Final diesel engine emission regulations. The use of the 3512E engines will drastically reduce emissions at the naval installations where they operate. The YT 808's will replace the Navy's 45 – 55-year-old YTB class tugs at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine and the Pacific Northwest.
Cat Tier 4 engines are working in dozens of new tugs around the Unites States today since the Tier 4 emissions regulation went into effect in 2017. The first Navy YT 808 is the latest Cat powered Tier 4 tug to go into service, as it is already performing its mission for the US Navy at Naval Base Kitsap in the Puget Sound.
About Caterpillar Marine:
Caterpillar Marine, with headquarters in Houston, Texas, groups all the marketing and service activities for Cat® and MaK marine diesel, dual fuel, and gas power systems within Caterpillar Inc. The organization provides premier power solutions in the medium and high-speed segments with outputs from 93 to 16,800 kW in main propulsion and 10 to 16,100 ekW in marine generator sets. The sales and service network includes more than 2,100 dealer locations worldwide dedicated to support customers in ocean-going, commercial marine and pleasure craft wherever they are.