Business

Singapore: MPA calls for proposals to design electric harbour craft

EOI will focus on the design and support for transition to electrification of smaller harbour crafts for a start, which are generally 20 to 40 tonnes in gross tonnage and have an overall length of 10 to 20 metres.

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Admin

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on Tuesday (11 July) issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) on 10 July to invite interested parties to submit proposals to design and promote adoption of full-electric harbour craft (e-HC) in Singapore.

The Ministry of Transport announced at the Committee of Supply debate 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.

To promote wider and early adoption of e-HC, MPA intends to support harbour craft companies by providing e-HC 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 e-HC in the sector.

The EOI will allow MPA to assess and validate proposals for the best-in-class e-HC reference designs. These 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.

These reference designs will complement the e-HC engineering knowledge and local capabilities developed by the joint industry-research consortiums supported by MPA and the Singapore Maritime Institute as well as other industry-led collaborations on research and development of e-HC for various use cases.

To facilitate the development of green financing models for the development of the e-HC, the EOI will also invite proposals to demonstrate the commercial viability of various business models based on an aggregated harbour craft fleet to meet the demand at the Port of Singapore.

An aggregated fleet aims to improve utilisation rates, encouraging more companies, especially those with smaller fleet size, to electrify their harbour craft, while providing efficient and responsive services to meet the needs of ships calling into Singapore.

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 bunkers, as well as towage and launch services. The suitability of electrification as a decarbonisation pathway depends on several factors, including the operating profile and energy requirements of the harbour craft.

For a start, the EOI will focus on the design and support for transition to electrification of the smaller harbour craft. These are generally in the range of 20 to 40 tonnes in gross tonnage, have an overall length of 10 to 20 metres, and a combined shaft power ranging from 200 to 400 kW. There are currently about 400 of these harbour craft deployed in the Port of Singapore.

Mr 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”.

Note: Interested parties can visit the MPA website https://go.gov.sg/eoi-e-harbourcraft for more details and to submit their proposals by 15 September 2023, 2359 hrs (Singapore time).

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 11 July, 2023

Up Next

Singapore: Equatorial Marine Fuel conducts carbon credit trial with Carbon Management Solutions

Don't Miss

IMO: Revised GHG reduction strategy for global shipping adopted

Legal

Shell MGO bunker heist: Bunker clerk gets jail time for helping Sentek acquire misappropriated fuel

Wong Wai Meng was sentenced to seven years, four months and two weeks’ jail on 10 January for helping the company acquire more than 28,000 mt of the misappropriated fuel worth USD 13.58 million.

Published

13 hours ago

January 13, 2025

Admin

A bunker clerk, who was previously employed by Sentek Marine & Trading (Sentek), was sentenced to seven years, four months and two weeks’ jail for helping the company acquire more than 28,000 metric tonnes (mt) of the misappropriated fuel worth USD 13.58 million (SGD 18.26 million), The Straits Times reported on Friday (10 January).

Wong Wai Meng, was working for Singapore-based firm Sentek at the time of the offences.

Wong, who received more than USD 286,000 from the company for his assistance, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to 12 counts of intentionally helping the company acquire the misappropriated fuel.

He committed the offences over 46 occasions between August 2014 and December 2017.

Wong is among the three bunker clerks previously employed by Sentek, who were charged for offences under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSA) and the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).

Another bunker clerk among the three charged, Wong Kuin Wah, 61, was sentenced to seven years and six months’ jail on 18 November for his role in misappropriating more than 27,000 tonnes of gas oil worth around USD 12.8 million (SGD 17.2 million).

The third individual who was charged, Boo Pu Wen, reportedly passed away in July 2023 and had his charges abated following his death, meaning Boo’s court proceedings over his 19 charges at the time came to an end.

Former Shell employees, who were key members of a group who dishonestly misappropriated fuel from Shell Pulau Bukom, were sentenced to jail in court earlier.

Earlier coverage of developments by Manifold Times regarding the Shell MGO bunker heist can be found below:

Photo credit: Katrin Bolovtsova
Published: 13 January, 2025

Winding up

Singapore: Liquidator issue notice of intended dividend for Parakou Shipping

Creditors will need to produce proofs of debt to liquidator of Parakou Shipping by 24 January, according to Government Gazette notice.

Published

13 hours ago

January 13, 2025

Admin

A notice to declare intended dividend of Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd to its creditors has been posted on the Government Gazette on Friday (10 January).

The following are the details of the notice of intended dividend for the first dividend:

Name of Company : Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)

Address of Registered Office : c/o KordaMentha, 16 Collyer Quay, #30-01, Singapore 049318

Last Day of Receiving Proofs : 24 January 2025 (if not already lodged)

Name of Liquidator : Cameron Duncan

Address : c/o KordaMentha, 16 Collyer Quay, #30-01, Singapore 049318

Photo credit: steve pb from Pixabay
Published: 13 January, 2025

Alternative Fuels

DNV: LNG dominates alternative-fuel vessel orderbook for 2024

According to DNV, LNG was the industry’s alternative fuel of choice by year-end; 264 LNG vessel orders were placed in 2024, over double that of 2023 which was 130 orders.

Published

13 hours ago

January 13, 2025

Admin

The maritime industry’s exceptional newbuilding year 2024 drove a significant rise in orders for alternative-fuelled vessels, according to the latest data from DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insights (AFI) platform.

A total of 515 such ships were ordered, representing a 38% year-on-year increase compared to 2023, underscoring the industry's growing commitment to decarbonization.

The growth in alternative-fuelled vessel orders has been heavily driven by the container and car carrier newbuild boom over the last three years. In 2024, 69% of all container ship orders were for ships capable of being powered by alternative fuels, driven by cargo owners responding to consumer demands for more sustainable practices and liner companies preparing to replace older tonnage. The preferred fuel choice for this segment was LNG (67%). In total the container and car carrier segments made up 62% of all alternative fuel orders in 2024.

Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO Maritime at DNV, said: “As we work towards decarbonizing the industry, we are encouraged by the growth in alternative fuel vessels over the past few years. While recent figures are promising, we must keep pushing forward.”

“The technological transition is underway, but supply of alternative fuel is still low. As an industry we need to work with fuel suppliers and other stakeholders to ensure that shipping has access to its share of alternative fuels in the future. It is also important that the safety of seafarers is ensured as we make this transition. This will require investment in upskilling and training.”

LNG was not the only fuel on shipowners’ minds as 2024 saw them betting on multiple alternative fuels. 166 methanol orders were added (32% of the AFI orderbook), reflecting shipping’s growing interest in a diverse fuel pool as it strives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Most of these methanol orders (85) were in the container segment.

While methanol drove newbuilding orders for alternative-fuelled vessels at the beginning of the year, LNG was the industry’s alternative fuel of choice by year-end. The number of LNG vessel orders placed in 2024 was 264, over double that of 2023 (130).

Ammonia saw promising momentum in the earliest months of the year and continued to grow throughout 2024. A total of 27 orders were placed for ammonia-fueled vessels. The first non-gas carrier ammonia-fuelled vessels orders were placed in 2024 (10), mainly in the bulk carrier segment (5). While still in its early stages, this provides further evidence of ammonia's emergence in the alternative fuel market.

Deliveries and bunkering

The number of LNG-fuelled ships in operation doubled between 2021 and 2024, with a record number of deliveries (169) in 2024. By the end of 2024, 641 LNG-powered ships were in operation. According to the AFI orderbook, this number is expected to double by the end of the decade.

While the bunkering infrastructure for some alternative fuels remains underdeveloped, LNG bunkering is maturing. The number of LNG bunker vessels in operation grew from 52 to 64 over the last year, with continued growth expected in 2025. The significant gap between LNG bunkering supply and demand is expected to widen over the next five years based on the AFI orderbook.

Addressing this challenge by developing the appropriate infrastructure for alternative fuels – both for vessels and bunkering - can create demand signals to stimulate long-term fuel production. With the EU regulatory package, Fit for 55, setting requirements on a large network of ports to have LNG bunkering infrastructure, it is expected that the availability of LNG in ports will increase.

Jason Stefanatos, Global Decarbonization Director at DNV, said: “Market conditions, infrastructure development, fuel production updates, and cargo owners' needs are all shaping the demand for different fuels, both in the short and long term.”

“The shifting trends in LNG and methanol orders this year might be due to the slow development of green methanol production. In the long run, green methanol has potential to be part of the energy mix along with ammonia.”

“In parallel, LNG offers a vital bridging fuel option benefiting from existing infrastructure and short-term emissions reductions while being capable of acting as a long-term solution as well, assuming RNG (Renewable Natural Gas) will be available and provided at a competitive price.”

Photo credit: DNV
Published: 13 January, 2024