FROM 2030, all new harbour craft will have to be fully electric, be capable of using pure biodiesel (B100), or be compatible with net-zero fuels such as hydrogen.

The directive came as the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has set the target for harbour craft and pleasure craft sectors to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, in line with the national climate ambition.

Announcing this at his ministry’s Committee of Supply debate on Friday (Mar 3), Minister for Transport S Iswaran said that MPA will partner industry, financial institutions, harbour-craft operators and manufacturers to lower the cost of adoption and mobilise support for early adopters.

A call for proposals will go out in the second quarter for the design and development, demand aggregation and green financing for new electric harbour craft, he noted.

Currently, about 1,600 harbour craft ply Singapore waters. Many of these are smaller vessels servicing the larger vessels parked in Singapore waters.

As for the pleasure craft sector and domestic tug boats, Iswaran noted that MPA is studying the timelines for the transition, given their different power requirements, and will provide an update next year.

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Research, trials between now and then

In an accompanying statement, MPA said that the industry is encouraged to consult with it on harbour craft designs early to ensure that they can meet the new 2030 requirements.

This consultation process will become compulsory from 2027, it stated.

MPA also said that it is working with research institutes to study the charging infrastructure required to support an electric harbour craft fleet. Findings from the study will be released next year, and the goal is to develop an implementation master plan for the charging infrastructure by 2025.

In the meantime, MPA is working with terminal and harbour craft operators to pilot the implementation of charging stations. 

The first of such stations will be deployed by Shell, at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Singapore on Pulau Bukom, by the first half of the year to support full-electric ferries owned and operated by Penguin International.

On the alternative fuels front, MPA is working on updating its provisional standard for marine biofuel, as trials for B100 are expected to be completed by 2025.

It is also exploring the use of hydrogen and ammonia to support the decarbonisation of international shipping.

Greening aviation

Iswaran, meanwhile, announced that all vehicles at Changi Airport’s airside will have to run on cleaner energy by 2040. Cleaner energy could include electrification or the use of biofuels, he noted. Currently, close to 20 per cent of around 2,500 airside vehicles there are electric.

To this end, all new ground vehicles used at the airport – such as cars, vans and minibuses – must be electric vehicles (EVs) from 2025, as there are already viable electric alternatives, he noted.

The 2025 timeline will also be applied to select new heavy vehicles such as tractors and forklifts, he added.

To support this, Changi Airport Group will increase its number of EV charging stations to more than 300 over the next few years, from about 100 currently.

The government will also commence trials on the use of renewable diesel, especially for specialised airport ground handling vehicles where there are no electric models, he said.

Iswaran also announced a new S$50 million aviation sustainability programme to support feasibility trials and research studies, including the use of renewable diesel.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said that the programme will provide up to 70 per cent funding for sector-wide projects, and up to 50 per cent funding for company-level projects that can deliver on one or more of these key thrusts: catalyse initiatives to reduce the sector’s carbon footprint, develop new sustainability capabilities, and develop a collaborative aviation sustainability ecosystem. The first call for proposals will open from Apr 1 to 30.

Electric bus tender

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will call a tender this month to buy around 400 new electric buses to replace diesel buses that are reaching their statutory lifespan from December 2024. This will add to the fleet of 60 electric buses that has already been deployed.

The tender is targeted for award in the second half of the year, with the buses expected to be deployed for passenger service from December 2024.

LTA will also be extending the Electric Vehicle Common Charger Grant by another two years until December 2025. The grant, which was launched in July 2021 to encourage the deployment of chargers in non-landed private residences, has so far co-funded the installation of 267 chargers in 107 condominiums.

Other key transport updates

• Point to point: Taxi and private hire car ridership returned to about 80 per cent of pre-Covid levels in 2022, but the supply of drivers has not recovered in tandem with demand. The number of active private hire drivers fell to about 55,000 in the fourth quarter of 2022, from around 69,000 pre-Covid. The decline is steeper for taxi drivers – there are around 9,000 fewer active drivers compared to pre-Covid. LTA will work with operators to reduce the time to process vocational licence applications.

• Changi’s air traffic: Passenger traffic volumes, flights and city links stand at about 80 per cent of pre-Covid levels today. Based on the current trajectory, Changi should return to pre-pandemic levels by 2024, possibly earlier, Iswaran said. The aviation sector’s workforce has recovered to about 90 per cent.

• Terminal 5: After a Covid-induced “pause”, work on the design of Changi Airport’s fifth terminal (T5) is restarting to make it “more modular, resilient and energy-efficient”. Construction is expected to start by 2025, for T5 to be operational around the mid-2030s. Meanwhile, the government will inject a further S$2 billion into the Changi Airport Development Fund.

• Tuas Port: Reclamation works for Phase 2 construction of the mega port is about 60 per cent complete. Planning and design works have begun for Phase 3, MPA said, adding that reclamation works for this phase is expected to be completed in mid-2030s.