First fully electric tugboat delivered in Singapore

Maritime conglomerate Kuok Maritime Group (KMG) has taken delivery of Eon, a fully electric harbour tugboat, in Singapore.

IMAGE: Kuok Maritime’ Groups fully electric tugboat. KMG

A tugboat is a vessel used to tow or push larger ships within harbours, rivers, or canals. While the immediate impact of such a small-scale electric vessel on global greenhouse gas emissions may be modest, its significance lies elsewhere—it offers valuable technical and operational insights that could shape the development of larger electric vessels in the future.

Eon is equipped with an electric propulsion system supplied by Swiss technology firm ABB and is powered by a 3 megawatt-hour (MWh) lithium titanate oxide (LTO) battery pack. The vessel was constructed by shipbuilder PaxOcean.

It has also received Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore’s (BV) battery system notation.

The vessel is the “first fully electric harbor tug in Singapore and Southeast Asia,” according to BV.

This delivery aligns with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore's (MPA) mandate that all new harbour craft operating in its waters must be fully electric, capable of using B100 biofuel, or compatible with net-zero fuels by 2030.

By Tuhin Roy

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