Icebreaker converted to Common Rail Injection

On a Swedish icebreaker, HEINZMANN succeeded in converting the propulsion engine of the ship from mechanical fuel injection to common rail injection.The customised solution is available for almost any four-stroke- or two-stroke engine and delivers outstanding results in terms of engine optimisation, fuel saving, noise behaviour and exhaust emissions, especially in terms of smoking behaviour.

The challenge
The Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) examined the technical potential to equip their 40-year old icebreaker YMER with an advanced electronic fuel injection system to meet the environmental guidelines and to make the vessel more efficient.

The HEINZMANN solution
The HEINZMANN feasibility study showed that common rail retrofit was the ideal solution to meet SMA’s requirements regarding operation cost and emission reduction. An on-site survey of the five main Pielstick12 PC2.2V engines generating 3.5 MW each including on-engine measurements was performed. To prove the concept, the first engine was successfully converted to common rail and tested. After a two-year test period under harsh operating conditions, the conversion of the remaining four engines followed. The project has shown that the HEINZMANN Common Rail Fuel Injection System is a cost-effective and viable universal solution for retrofitting older marine engines.