Bureau Veritas (BV), the testing, inspection and certification (TIC) body, has certified and classed Singapore’s first hybrid-powered ship, the Penguin Tenaga.
Built, owned and operated by Singapore-based Penguin Shipyard International, a subsidiary of Penguin International, the Tenaga is a 15m, 12-passenger aluminum pilot boat capable of entirely running in electric mode at 5kts for more than 30 minutes, and in conventional diesel mode can reach a maximum speed of 24kts.
The vessel design is based on the same hullform as two of Penguin’s existing monohull pilot boats that are currently operating for Shell Eastern Petroleum in Singapore.
The Tenaga is classed under BV with the notation Electric Hybrid and Zero Emission (ZE) mode, which denotes the ship’s systems operate safely and efficiently, while reducing fuel consumption, local air emissions and noise when in proximity to centers of population. BV says it assisted Penguin by providing guidance on the BV rules and advice to Sea Forrest Power Solutions, toward certification of the equipment on board, such as the hybrid electric propulsion systems installed on the vessel.
In addition to the electric propulsion system, solar panels installed on the roof of the Tenaga provide electrical energy that is used to recharge mobile devices on board and supplement the vessel’s ‘hotel load’.
In a bid to reduce emissions, Singapore is taking a lead in developing hybrid-electric propulsion technology for offshore support and harbor vessels. Currently, there are limited applications for pure electric vessels in Singapore due to the lack of charging infrastructure. However, this could change in coming years as the country electrifies its maritime ecosystem to meet IMO sustainability targets as well as its own sustainability goals. BV has also created comprehensive guidelines and rules to help the shipowners and builders move toward sustainability-powered vessels.
James Tham , MD of Penguin, commented, “In the early days, when we were still in the conceptual phase of this hybrid project, we were faced with many variables and uncertainties. However, one thing that we were certain about was the choice of Bureau Veritas as our classification partner. Bureau Veritas’s Singapore team brought to this project their valuable know-how and expertise in hybrid-powered ship.”
