Singapore's port authority plans to require newbuild harbour craft to be nett-zero-ready in less than a decade.
Apparently, the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore (MPA Singapore) recently decided that all new harbour craft operating in Singapore's port must be fully electric, or capable of operating on B100 (straight) biofuel by 2030.
Alternatively, all harbour craft in the port must be compatible with nett-zero fuels such as hydrogen, with the aim of all vessels operating with nett-zero emissions by 2050.
"The transition to a sustainable future will take time. We need to start now to achieve our 2050 nett-zero emissions targets," Senior Minister of State for Transport Chee Hong Tat told a parliamentary session on Friday.
Hong Tat highlighted the progress that MPA Singapore had made in encouraging electrification, which has included the planning of upcoming pilot projects for the first full-electric ferry and first full-electric lighter craft that are scheduled to start in 2023.
MPA is also launching a charging station plan to support electric vessel operations, and the first location will begin operating at Shell's facility on Pulau Bukom in a few months' time. The agency is putting together a broader charging station plan covering more locations, and that roadmap will be completed in 2025.
Global environmental activists have praised Singapore for its plans to transition vessels in its port to renewable energy.
“We applaud Singapore’s commitment to move towards 100% zero-emission port and ships through its 2050 nett-zero emissions targets. This transition requires a jumpstart this decade, and harbour craft are a great place to start. Fossil-fuelled harbour craft – including ferries, tugboats, crew and supply boats, fishing vessels, excursion vessels and others – produce air quality pollutants and GHG emissions that warm our planet," said Allyson Browne, climate campaign manager for ports at Pacific Environment.
Vessel operators might not need to make significant changes to equipment for their newbuilds in order to comply with the port’s new regulations as modern diesel engines can already use at least one form of biofuel without any modification. Renewable diesel, which is manufactured by refining vegetable oil in a hydrocracking, meets all specifications for diesel and is considered a replacement. – SOURCE: Maritime Executive
