MPA Calls for Electric Harbor Craft Proposals

July 10, 2023

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) hosted its second edition of the ‘Accelerating Decarbonisation Conference’ in April. (Source: MPA)

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has issued an Expression of Interest inviting interested parties to submit proposals to design and promote the adoption of full-electric harbour craft in Singapore.

The Ministry of Transport announced this year that the harbour craft, pleasure craft and tug boat sectors would be required to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 in line with Singapore’s national net zero ambitions. To support this goal, operators with new harbour craft plans should inform the MPA about their plans from January 2027, so that the designs can be adjusted if required. From 2030, all new harbour craft operating in the Port of Singapore will have to be fully electric, be capable of using B100 biofuel, or be compatible with net zero fuels such as hydrogen.

MPA intends to support harbour craft companies by providing engineering reference designs and safety standards to adopt, as well as helping the companies access more attractive financing solutions and lower the cost of production through aggregating overall demand for electric harbor craft.

MPA says the reference designs would include design standards and guidelines for vessel structure that is optimised for efficiency, integrated battery management and energy storage systems, and the essential safety systems that include emergency back-up, cybersecurity and firefighting capabilities.

There are currently about 1,600 harbour craft performing a range of marine services within the Port of Singapore, including the delivery of ship supplies and bunker, as well as towage and launch services.

Design efforts will initially focus on the electrification of the smaller harbour craft. These are generally in the range of 20 – 40 gross tonnes, have an overall length of 10 – 20 metres, and a combined shaft power ranging from 200 – 400 kW. There are currently about 400 of these harbour craft deployed in the Port of Singapore.

Teo Eng Dih, Chief Executive of MPA, said, “The harbour craft sector is an integral part of our port ecosystem. The Expression of Interest is a significant first step to encourage and support early adopters of e-harbour craft. With common referenced designs and the aggregation of demand, we hope to reduce the upfront premiums and operating costs for new harbour craft. This will also support the development of green financing options and enhance the skills of our maritime workforce. We look forward to receiving the proposals and working with like-minded partners to grow the green economy and contribute towards Singapore’s decarbonisation goals.”