Caterpillar Marine Selected A “Engine Of Choice” By Turkey’s Sanmar Shipyards

Cat® dealer Borusan in Turkey signs ground-breaking Letter of Intent with leading tugboat builder Sanmar

Hamburg, Germany - In a deal which confirms Caterpillar Marine’s position as the leading power solutions  provider in the tugboat sector, the company’s Cat dealer in Turkey, Borusan, has signed a Letter of Intent with Sanmar Shipyards for the supply of an extensive range of propulsion units over the next three years. The deal is a significant milestone for Caterpillar because it demonstrates Sanmar’s view that Cat® power solutions are not only best-in-class today, but are likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.

The Letter of Intent covers the supply of Cat propulsion engines and generator sets to Sanmar for their building program over the coming 3 years. At least 84 propulsion engines and 86 generator sets are expected to be supplied between now and 2018. These will include 26x Cat C32, 22x Cat 3512C, 36x Cat 3516C propulsion engines and 86x Cat C4.4 generator sets. The engines will primarily power tug boats providing bollard pulls of between 60 and 85 tonnes.

Caterpillar has a long and well-established relationship with Sanmar. Together with its customers, the shipbuilder recognizes the many innovative design features incorporated in the company’s engines. These include specially-designed ductile cast-iron engine blocks which provide extra strength and stiffness compared with other engines in the same class. This, in turn, improves the overall stability of the engine when running at full load for maximum bollard pull. Together with other best-in-class components, engines are optimized to provide the optimal power-to-weight ratios without compromising material quantity or strength.

“The profile of the tugboat sector is changing,” commented Cem Seven, Sanmar’s Managing Director. “Consolidation means there are fewer but larger tugboat operators which are increasingly focused on bigger, more powerful vessels to meet the very best standards on sustainability. Demand is shifting to more innovative tugboats which are capable of meeting the designed bollard pull more efficiently. This is what the Cat engines help us to provide to our customers.”

Mark Harrison, Caterpillar Marine Regional Sales Manager, said: “We are delighted to have this seal of approval from one of the industry’s leaders. Our strategy is to focus of designing products to help our customers be successful.  For tugs, that is high reliability at increased engine power with quicker acceleration while at the same time providing lower fuel consumption, lower emissions and increased sustainability.  Cat marine engines have proven over many years to deliver this to our customers in the tug boat segment.”

Levent Altun, Group Manager at Borusan, Caterpillar’s dealer in Turkey, added: “Even with the latest design features including advanced control and monitoring systems, Cat engines are renowned for ease of operation and straight forward maintenance. Together with the company’s world-wide network providing constant customer support, Cat marine engines and after-sales services are a perfect blend of state-of-the-art technology and sound human relations.”

Sanmar, one of the world’s leading tugboat builders, now provides vessels for many of the world’s leading tug operators. The company recently built and commissioned a second shipyard in Turkey to handle the growing demand. This year, Sanmar achieved delivery of 25 tugboats to the owners from ten different countries, establishing a new record for them.

Cat marine power and propulsion solutions are backed by the worldwide Cat dealer network with trained technicians to ensure service support is never out of reach. For more information on Caterpillar Marine, visit www.cat.com/marine. For information on Cat Propulsion products, visit www.catpropulsion.com. Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/caterpillarmarine and Twitter @catmarineglobal.

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About Caterpillar Marine

Caterpillar Marine, with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany, groups all the marketing and service activities for Cat and MaK™ marine diesel, dual fuel and gas power and propulsion systems within Caterpillar Inc. The organisation 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 kWe in marine generator sets as well as a comprehensive portfolio of propulsion solutions. The sales and service network includes more than 2,100 dealer locations world-wide dedicated to support customers in ocean-going, commercial marine and pleasure craft wherever they are.

More information is available at: MARINE.CAT.COM/pr

About Caterpillar

For nearly 90 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. Customers turn to Caterpillar to help them develop infrastructure, energy and natural resource assets. With 2014 sales and revenues of $55.184 billion, Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. The company principally operates through its three product segments - Resource Industries, Construction Industries and Energy & Transportation - and also provides financing and related services through its Financial Products segment. For more information, visit caterpillar.com. To connect with us on social media, visit caterpillar.com/social-media.

More information is available at www.cat.com.

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