Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) has issued an expression of interest (EOI) calling for proposals to design and promote the use of fully electric harbour craft in Singapore, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
The EOI document is a further step towards MPA’s rule that all new harbour craft operating in its waters to be fully electric, or run on biofuels or net-zero fuels from 2030. The final aim is to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Proposals have to be submitted before midnight on Sept. 15 (1600 GMT).
The EOI will first focus on smaller harbour craft that typically have gross tonnage of 20 to 40, overall length of 10 to 20 metres, and combined shaft power of 200 to 400 kilowatts.
There are about 400 harbour craft with these specifications deployed in Singapore. Overall, there are 1,600 harbour craft operating in the port.
Proposals should consider design standards and guidelines for essential safety systems and vessel structure optimised for efficiency, battery management and energy storage systems. They should also demonstrate the commercial viability of business models based on an aggregated harbour craft fleet.
“With common referenced designs and the aggregation of demand, we hope to reduce the upfront premiums and operating costs for new harbour craft,” said MPA Chief Executive Teo Eng Dih.
Operators with plans to deploy new harbour craft should also inform the MPA about their plans from January 2027, so that designs can be adjusted if required, the MPA said.
