3 clusters will build electric ships for Singapore and test their economic efficiency
The electric ship, which will be able to carry up to 12 passengers and 35 tons of cargo, will be built by SeaTech in early 2023. SeaTech belongs to the ‘Goal Zero’ cluster. This will be the first step in replacing the fleet of 1,600 port vessels with internal combustion engines sailing in Singapore’s waters.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) have awarded funding to three groups of companies for the commissioning of a small electric vessel. A consortium led by Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel) and Sembcorp Marine SeaTech (SeaTech) is one of the groups implementing the project.
Three consortiums have been selected to design electric ships, and then build them and conduct operational tests in port conditions. The task of the Clusters is to build electric ships, and then to test and implement the proposed propulsion systems for ships for various purposes in servicing port customers.
The ‘Goal Zero’ cluster received one of three grants awarded by the MPA and SMI. Clusters led by Keppel FELS Limited and Sembcorp Marine received the other two grants. Malaysian energy infrastructure and technology company Yinson Holdings Berhad, through its subsidiary Yinson Green Technologies Pte (YGT), will be responsible for the overall management and commercialization of the program. Seatech Solutions International Pte, a Singapore-based marine engineering company, is the leader of a consortium that is developing the vessel’s design and systems integration.